Taking Chances
by Beth724
Summary: Bella Swan loves working as a spy for the CIA. What happens when she has to partner with someone from MI6 to stop crucial File 33 from being leaked to the world? First fanfic, so enjoy! AH/OOC/Canon pairings; rated M for a reason.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, this is my first fic, so I hope you enjoy it. I posted a chapter of something else a while ago, but it sucked soooo. :)

I, of course, do not own these characters. They belong to S.M.

I do, however, own a general chemistry textbook. It's okay to be jealous. :)

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_There is absolutely nothing like a great run_ I thought, reaching back to tighten my ponytail. I made it a point to wake up every morning to run. I needed to stay in shape for work, but even if I didn't, I would still need to run. It's almost impossible for me to start my day without at least a five-mile run and a coffee.

It was days like today though, that made me remember why I loved running so much.

Even though it was bitterly cold, as it usually was in Baltimore during the winter, the wind was refreshing against my over-heated skin. I loved the feel of the cold wind blowing through my hair, and the way that I smelled when I came back inside.

Okay, so I didn't like smelling like B.O., but I did love smelling like winter.

It was a refreshing smell, the kind of smell that you can just barely detect when you're outside. It's strongest just before a snow storm, and it fills your senses with either dread or anticipation, depending on your feelings regarding snow.

I had just run into my underground garage to check on my car (I'm a tad obsessed with it) and was still completely amazed at how gorgeous she was.

_How sexy is my Aston Martin Carbon Black_ I thought, dragging my fingertips along the hood. This car was pure sex; black paint that resembled silk, a sleek, completely aerodynamic design… there was nothing about this car that was even remotely negative.

And she was all mine.

One of the many positives of my job as a spy: I got to keep the machinery.

Just then, the invisible earpiece in my right ear beeped, signaling that I had a call that was going to patch in. I waited 3 seconds before saying, "Talk to me, Jake."

Jacob Black was my mission coordinator/gadget man, my 'Q' if you will. We'd known each other since diapers, so when we both discovered that we had taken up the spying business, it was impossible not to insist to be placed together.

Jake worked hard to prep me for any and all missions; it had become so routine for us that I found it nearly impossible to be briefed by anyone else. Jake knew me; he knew what I needed to know, when I needed to know it, and was able to give me all the crazy little gadgets to help make my life just a little bit easier.

And I loved him to death for it.

"Alright, Bells, here's the deal. Tonight you have to meet up with your MI6 contact at the annual New Year's Ball." "How romantic." I quipped, waving goodbye to my car and walking into the elevator up to my pent house apartment.

Jacob laughed a curt laugh, before continuing, "Can it Bells. Look, I know that you don't like working with other agencies on jobs, because you always think you can do it yourself –" "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!" I interrupted, jamming the button for my floor a little harder than usual.

I hated it when people thought that I couldn't get my jobs done. I did whatever I could to make sure that I finished each and every job I was assigned. Any mistakes I made, I fixed. The CIA never heard me gripe to them once. And this was how they repaid me…

"Look, I know that you are an amazing agent Bells, but this mission isn't solely staked on American soil here. This is a global crisis, and you need to be willing to work with other agencies. Just be glad it's a Brit this time, and not a Russian, like last time."

I laughed, shaking my head, remembering the mess that Aleksandr and I had gotten into. That man was sober for all of about ten minutes. How he managed to complete his parts of the mission, I will never know. But he certainly wasted no time trying to get me in bed.

No comment there.

Stepping out of the elevator, I grabbed around in my clutch for my keys, unlocking the two sets of double doors leading to my house.

Jake thought that I was insane when I told him my plans to build my apartment this way. I had an amazingly high tech security system, sound proofing, and iron plated locks in all the doors and windows. It's a lot, but when you consider what I do for a living…

It wasn't that Baltimore was unsafe. Well, at least the Inner Harbor wasn't unsafe.

I absolutely adored living in Baltimore. Though I was born in Phoenix, the unpredictable weather and freezing winters wasn't actually too difficult a transition. I would have stayed out west, but once I got the job in DC, I had to move.

I'm glad that I chose Baltimore, because from what I've heard about DC… it sounds horrid.

"Are you listening Bella?" Jake asked, clearly tuned in to the fact that I have been ignoring him for the past five minutes. "Uhm, yes, Jake. Of course I was listening to you!" I tried to sound offended, hoping that it would make me sound more sincere. It didn't work. "What did I say then?" He asked. I pictured him with his hands on his hips, tapping his foot on the ground. "Jesus Jake, you might want to check and make sure that Leah hasn't cut off your dick. You're such a girl now!" I exclaimed, laughing. Jake barked a laugh, lightening the mood, and letting me know that he understood that I had just been joking with him.

Jake and Leah had found each other about six months ago, and were virtually inseparable. She was tough where he was soft, and quiet where he was loud and exclamatory. They foiled each other perfectly, and their love was spectacular.

I was more than a little jealous, but there was no way that I was ready to handle a relationship at this stage in my life.

"Well anyway," Jake continued, "as I was saying. You're going formal for this one Bells. I don't care what you wear, just make sure that it's going to work with the ball at the Aquarium."

"Ugh, the Aquarium, Jake?" I complained, "I love the Aquarium. I refuse to have it ruined by this espionage!" Jacob scoffed in my ear, ignoring my griping.

"Alright, so it's eight a.m. now, Bells. You need to be ready by eight thirty tonight." "Gotcha Jake," I said, walking over to pull out the blender and rummage through my fridge, "I'll be ready. Do you have any info on my contact?" Jake sighed into the phone, and I knew that he was probably awkwardly shifting his weight and fidgeting. "You didn't get it did you?" I asked, a bored, yet accusatory, tone to my voice. Jake laughed uncomfortably, confirming my suspicions.

"Dammit, Jacob! How am I supposed to know who I'm meeting if you have NOTHING on him right now?" I slammed a jug of orange juice on the counter, followed by several small containers of fresh fruit. Jacob chuckled quietly before saying, "Bella. Calm down. You don't really need all the information on this guy until you're on the way to the ball. I do, however, have to brief you on the situation. Are you prepared for that?"

I fumbled with all the containers, trying to move them from one counter to another without dropping everything, as I replied, "Can you actually give me a minute? I'm starving. I just got back from my run, and I need a smoothie. I'll call you in five minutes once I'm locked in the briefing room."

Yes, I had my own briefing room.

"Alright, Bells. I'll work on digging into this guy now." And then he clicked out.

Sighing, I ripped the ear bud from my ear, and pulled off the tiny microphone that was "disguised" as a freckle on the side of my neck.

Have I mentioned how much I love Jake's gadgets?

Picking up the iHome remote, I clicked on my music, and felt my body instantly relax as the sounds of Jack's Mannequin filled the air. I plugged in the blender and began throwing in all the ingredients and set it to blend. While I waited, I set up the coffee maker, and started brewing.

After I made my smoothie, and cleaned up the associated mess, I walked down the long hall from the kitchen to the "screening room", spinning around immediately after entering to lock the door.

Pulling on the concealed handle, I opened up the security panel; I locked the security door in place, effectively sound proofing the room. I then pressed a button for a quick security scan, which told me if anyone had recently entered the room, and did a quick search to detect any wireless devices in use in the room.

Once I knew we were all clear, I popped my mike on, and shoved in my earbud, taking a sip from my smoothie, before saying "Call: Jacob Black."

As the phone rang, I took some time to check and make sure that the fax was loaded with paper, that all the drawers in the room were locked, and that everything was secure.

"Alright Bells," I heard Jake come streaming in through my ear just as I pulled the control panel out from the desk drawer. After pressing a few buttons, a 52-inch flat screen monitor came out from the wall. "Go ahead Jake," I said, "I'm just typing in my password now. I'll be on the system in a second."

"Okay, well, I'm going to start giving you the break down then," he said, undoubtedly sorting through all the material he was about to shoot to me over the computer screen. "Does the name James Conklin mean anything to you, Bells?" he asked, as a file shot up on my screen. The man pictured wasn't someone that I had ever seen before, but the name certainly sounded familiar. I told him so.

"Well, that's probably because of this mission, Bells. Alice has been freaking out about this guy for weeks, and she's happy that she's finally got you on assignment. I'm sure that you've at least heard her talk about him once or twice." I nodded silently, as I perused his file.

Alice was my very best friend in the world. Though I loved Jake to death, there were some things that a girl just needs to talk to other girls about. I had met Alice when I first started working at the CIA 5 years ago; about a week before I was due to get my first assignment.

I was walking down the hall, carrying about fifty folders in my arms and I walked directly into Alice, causing the coffee in her hands to blow up all over her _very _expensive Versace handbag. I, of course, immediately began freaking out. Not only had I ruined someone's very expensive handbag, it was my _boss's _very expensive bag.

Alice was my age, but she was absolutely brilliant, and had worked her way up through the lower ranks of the agency during her college years. Alice got to decide what missions I went on, when I got them, who I worked with, and how much money I was allotted. But really, Alice was nothing more than another one of us who just happened to have a higher rank.

Though, I didn't realize this at the time.

I immediately began apologizing, insisting that she let my buy her a new bag, and telling her over and over again that I was "very, very, extremely sorry".

Needless to say, I was shocked when Alice burst out laughing. "Listen, Bella," how she knew my name, I'll never know, "it's not that big of a deal. I needed a new reason to go shopping anyway." "But, Ms. Brandon –" Alice laughed again, and I was starting to question her sanity.

"Please." She said, waving a dismissive hand at me. "First of all, it's Alice. We're the same age, and we're going to be great friends; none of this Ms. Brandon business. Secondly, if you really feel that badly, just come with me to buy a new bag. Then your debt to me will be repaid." She flashed a winning smile at me, and I just couldn't say no.

From then on, Alice and I were practically attached at the hip.

_As soon as I get off this call with Jake, I should call her. _ I thought. _She is DEFINITELY the best person to help me pick out what I need to wear tonight._

I pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of my desk, and wrote "Call Alice" on the top.

"Did you get Conklin's file, Bells?" Jake asked, breaking me out of my zone. "Yep, I'm perusing it now." I said, flipping through the files on the screen. "Perfect, I'll get started then." Jake said, and he launched into his usual mission spiel.

"Alright, so you've heard a little about James, but you probably have no idea why we are after him… am I correct here?" he asked, knowing full well that he was. After I answered in the affirmative, he continued. "Alright, well, basically, James has access to File 33. This means nothing to you by name, but File 33 contains the nuclear protection schematics for major cities in both America and Western Europe." "What cities?" I asked, flipping through James' personal files.

_Holy fuck, he speaks 5 languages…. French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, and Russian… well, I speak those, and then some. Okay, comforting._

"Well," Jake said, "he has information on New York, LA, DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Madrid, and Edinburgh."

"Holy shit, Jake!" I exclaimed, "How did he get that?!"

"He is trying to buy it off of some rogue Italian agents as we speak. Once he acquires it, he is probably not going to even end up using the information himself. He's more of a middleman. We have him connected to terrorist groups all over the world. Some well established, others more of the underground type that you never hear about." Jake sighed, clearly disturbed by what this information could mean. "We need to get him, Bells. He **cannot** use this. We will be so totally fucked if he has time to get into the file."

"Wait," I said, now slightly confused, "you mean, he hasn't gotten a chance to use the information in here yet?" "No," Jake said, "he is going to be transferring the file to a rouge group based out of Palestine. From there, the file is going to be transferred to groups all over the world. Eventually, we conjecture that groups will join up to create nuclear warheads. And you know where it goes from there." Jake stopped, giving me a moment to process what he'd said.

"As for now, James only have **access** to the file. He is still in back room dealings with the Italian dealers who are offering it to him. They won't let them get his hands on it until he offers them a deal they are willing to accept."

"So what do you want me to do?" I asked, as I flipped through James' education background and personal history.

The information flew through my brain, filing itself appropriately so I could bring it up at a later date. It was one of the many positives of having a photographic memory.

My mind worked like iTunes on album shuffle. I could flip through images and bring up the specific information that I wanted/needed at that moment.

"Well, we need you and your MI6 agent to also express an interest in the file to the Italians that are in dealings with James. We need you to buy it right out from under him. Once you secure the file, you are going to evacuate the area, and we'll arrest the dealers and James himself. We're going to find out how they got a hold of the information, and go from there. James, on the other hand, we're going to put right on trial, and hopefully, hold him."

"Yeah, it says here that you have him connected to small terrorist events in the Middle East over the past few years." I said, flipping through pictures of him.

"That's right. It's mostly small stuff, but we can definitely hold him for stuff like car bombs and small transportation bombings. Then it's one less guy we have to deal with later."

"Perfect, Jake. I can do this. Now, explain to me what you need me to do tonight."

"Can do. Basically, besides showing up and finding your MI6 contact, we need to you find this guy." A new file popped up on my screen. "Laurent Da Revin?" I asked, beginning to flip through his background. "Yes," Jacob began, "he is connected to James through some past friends, but he is the American correspondent for the Italian dealers. I'm sending their files over now." Two more files popped up on my screen, and I began flipping through. "Victoria Lefevre and Riley Cohan…" I read. "Hm. Those names seem familiar." "Good, they should be." Jake said. "They used to work for SISMI a few years back, but went rogue when the reform went through back in 2007. They had been working on recovering nuclear files from some rogues at the time, so when they went off, they joined up, and kept on the same mission. They are now looking to sell it off, because they fear that the Italian government is going to find out that they used their resources to find File 33."

"How are the Italians handling this?" I asked, pretty sure I already knew the answer.

"You know how they operate. They're going to wait for us to get whatever information we want out of them before they take over. Last I heard, they are planning to send them to the jails."

"Okay, so back to Laurent. How do I approach this situation?" I asked. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes, letting myself picture the night playing out perfectly in my mind. The more I visualized it, the easier it seemed to execute when the time came later.

"Alright, so after you meet up with MI6," I started to interrupt him, before he said, "and before you interrupt me, I will get his information. I'll call you when you're on the way to the Aquarium tonight." I laughed, before allowing him to continue. "Okay, so you meet up with M16, then spend about a forty-five minutes to an hour mingling around with the crowd. I don't know how MI6 wants to play this just yet, but once I find out, I'll let you know. Anyway, after about an hour, you should wander over to Laurent, and introduce yourself."

"And I'm playing…" I asked.

"You know, Bells, patience is a virtue." Jacob chastised. I laughed, "That I don't possess, Jake. Now let's go. What reason do I have for talking to him?"

"I haven't cleared with MI6 yet, but from what I have, you two basically have to walk over to him and ask him how Jenks has been. This is supposed to signal him that you know that the deal is going on, and are interested in getting in on it. He should then give you details accordingly. Just play it from that point on. I know you're good at that."

"Perfect. That I can do." I felt the smile spreading across my face. "Any questions, Bells? If not, we're done for now." "Nope, nothing. Just call me when you get MI6's information." "Will do, Bells."

With that, we hung up.

Taking my earpiece out and my mike off, I pulled out a small velvet pull-tie bag, and placed them inside. I walked over to the closet on the far wall, and opened up the security panel, scanning my finger, my iris, and entering my password. Once the doors slid open, revealing my gadget storage, I placed the bag in a small holding container near the front.

After making sure that everything was locked up, and setting security to the room, I left, walking back into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and call Alice.

Picking up my iPhone off the charger on the counter, and grabbing a mug from the cabinet, I quickly dialed Alice's number and set about making my coffee.

Alice, of course, answered on the second ring.

"Alice Brandon." She said, her voice all business. She never checked the caller id when her phone rang; one of these days it was going to get her into trouble.

"Hey Ali, what's up?" I asked, stirring some sugar into my mug. "Oh, hey Bells. Nothing, just got back from my run, making coffee." I laughed, before saying "Wow. We are the same person Alice." I knew she was smiling when she said, "And that, my dear, is why we are best friends. Now, you're calling me about shopping aren't you?" I sighed, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand before throwing my spoon into the sink.

"How do you always know, Alice?"

"Silly Bella. You forget that I, Alice Brandon, know absolutely everything. Premonition, remember?"

I laughed; she was right. As long as I had known Alice, she had always had this uncanny ability to know what was going to happen before it actually happened. She was quick to brush it off as "feminine intuition" or something equally "average", but for those of us who knew her, and were thereby subject to it, we chocked it up to plain ol' clairvoyance. I don't care what Alice thinks, it is unnatural for her to know a lot of the things she did.

"Where did you want to go shopping?" Alice asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Uhm, wherever. A lot of places aren't open right now, but I need something soon. I also need to set up a hair and nail appointment… and I should probably get waxed." I cringed, just thinking about it. I hated getting waxed, but it was a necessity.

"OOOHH, thinking about getting lucky on this one, Bells?" Alice asked, a tinkling laugh tumbling out. I knew that she knew whom I was going to be set up with from MI6, and as much as I wanted to ask her, I knew that I couldn't over an unprotected phone line.

"Ha ha ha, Alice. Shut it. You know that I just like getting a wax. It's a personal thing. Who said anything about men?"

Alice laughed her (annoyingly) perfect laugh and said, "Alright, Bells. I'll pull some strings and set you up in some salons here later this afternoon." I could hear Alice opening and shutting drawers, probably trying to find a pen to scribble herself some notes. "OH!" she exclaimed suddenly, scaring the fucking hell out of me, "Let's go to New York for your dress! I have been **dying** to go to Barneys."

"Alice," I deadpanned, "New York is three and a half hours away." I couldn't believe that she thought that we would have anywhere near enough time to get everything done if she insisted on us spending seven hours in a car today.

"Oh, Bella. Your cluelessness is absolutely adorable." I could just picture her shaking her head. "We're going to fly into JFK. You seem to forget that I have invested and bought myself a plane recently."

My mind went completely blank as she finished speaking. "A…a…a.. p-p-lane?! Alice! You can't be serious. You want to **fly** into New York so that we can go get a **dress**?!"

"Yes Bella." Alice replied, obviously talking down to me. "You know, for someone so intelligent, you really underestimate the effect of an amazing dress. I'll call the airpark and have my plane prepped. I'll be over in twenty-five minutes to get you."

"Holy fu-" I started, before she hung up on me. "-ck." I sighed, looking down into my empty mug of coffee. "God damn it Alice." I put my mug in the sink, then sprinted to my bedroom, ripping a pair of gray Sevens from my drawer, along with a scrunchy purple tank top, tossing them on my bed as I ran to my closet.

I flung the door open, pausing in front of my wall of shoes, before selecting my black zipper heels. _I love these things. They are sex personified._

I leaned out of my closet, throwing the shoes onto my bed, and ran back in to look at my jewelry selection. I finally decided on a knotted silver necklace and my large diamond flower ring.

I tore my clothes off and ran into the shower, jumping in immediately after turning the knob. The water was freezing, and I screamed, jumping under the stream, but forcing myself to pull the shampoo from the shelf, and quickly lather my hair. Slowly, the water from the shower began to heat up, for which I was immensely grateful.

As I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair, I blindly grabbed a loofah, and poured on my strawberry scented body wash. I smiled, breathing in the scent.

Every time I smelled it, I was reminded of my mother. To this day, I remember my mother telling me that, even though it's nice to smell like an expensive perfume, or like some blend of floral smelling chemicals, men really appreciate a woman who smells of something natural, like fruit.

Even though she lived all the way across the country, in Phoenix, my mother and I were still very close. We didn't talk every day, but we kept up pretty regularly using email.

Renée was a very caring mother, though she had a tendency to be a little… scatterbrained. My mother's inner child was in permanent control, and as a result, I was forced to grow up rather quickly. It's not something that I regret about my life, or blame my mother for. I just sometimes wish that I had a little more time to really be a child when I was growing up.

Rinsing off, I quickly conditioned my hair, giving it some time to sit while I washed my face. I gave my body one final rinse, before jumping out of the shower, grabbing towels off of my heated towel rack.

I quickly wrapped my body up, and threw my hair into a towel, before walking back out into my bedroom.

I patted myself dry, and quickly began pulling on clothes, making sure that all the zippers were zipped, and giving myself a quick once over. _Alright, I look fucking smoking._

I walked back into the bathroom, toweling my hair, and applied simple mascara and eyeliner before switched on my blow dryer to quickly blast my hair.

One of my favorite ways to style my hair (other than just letting it air dry or throwing it up in a ponytail) is to blow dry my hair while I "finger-scrunch" my damp hair.

It usually ends up working out pretty well.

I dried my hair for five minutes, before shutting off the dryer and then running back out into my room to check the clock. Only twenty minutes had passed, so I still had plenty of time to relax before Alice was here.

I slipped on my jewelry, checked my hair and makeup, and then walked back into the kitchen.

After I put the dishes in the dishwasher, and made two to-go mugs of coffee. Alice was going to want another cup of coffee; we both started our days with at least two cups… it's sad really.

Just then, I heard Alice's signature knock on my door, and I walked quickly to the door to let her in.

"Hey, Ali!" I said, a smile on my face as I wrapped my arms around her tiny frame.

Alice stood at 5'1", three inches shorter than my 5'4". Though our heights weren't substantially different, there was just something about Alice that made her seem a million times more fragile than she actually was.

Because she was so small, Alice took to wearing heels at a very young age. The ones she was wearing now had straps that wrapped around, with golden studs and a buckle. They were edgy and sleek, and the perfect offset to her jeans and blazer/t-shirt combo.

I was always so jealous of Alice's outfits.

"You ready for those flashing lights, darling?" Alice asked, a smile flitting across her face as she followed me into the apartment.

I turned my head over my shoulder as I smiled at her, grabbing my clutch and coffee off the counter. "Here, I made you another coffee. I know you need two cups in order to really function." Alice looked so fucking happy, I thought she was going to die.

"THANK YOU." She said, as she took a generous sip from the cup.

"Alright," I said, walking back to the door, grabbing my brown bomber off the coat hook. "New York City, here we come."

And off we went.

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AGHHHH!!!

What do you think?! I hope you enjoyed it.

Reviews make me very happy. :) Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry that this took so long. I am taking a really heavy course load this semester at university, and haven't had much time to sit down at write. I'm going to try and keep a fairly decent schedule, but I don't make any promises.**

**Thank you SO MUCH to those who liked my story enough to favourite it, or add it to your alerts. It makes me so happy every time I get those emails. I also appreciated the comment, though I am still trying to figure out how to operate this system... so I haven't replied. But I will!**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**Again, Twilight belongs to SM.**

**What do I own, you ask? Why, I own a biology text book. And I love it!**

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We arrived at the airpark a little after nine, and the place was absolutely dead. I didn't know if Alice had arranged it to be as such, but I didn't really mind either way.

The fewer people that were trying to leave here today, the faster we would get to New York.

I didn't have a lot of time to get ready, or really go shopping around in the city today. I knew that once we landed, Alice and I would essentially have to run right to Barneys and pick out a dress. Granted, being there would probably take me a day and a half, especially because Alice would pick out a bunch of atrocious outfits that I would **never** even think about sliding my way into.

"Alright, Bella. We're here." Alice pulled up into a parking lot just outside the airpark before jumping out of the car. I quickly jumped out after her, and began speed walking to catch up. _For someone so small, she moves so fucking fast!_

"Here's the plan." Alice began, in her scheming voice. "We are going to probably touch down in New York sometime around ten thirty. We will get into the city and should be in Barneys by eleven. We have a half an hour to find a dress. Then we are going to La Perla." I started to protest before she threw her hand up in my face. "Don't even start Bella. I don't care. You need some new lingerie."

I sighed, looking down at the ground. "Alice, no one is going to even see it. I don't see why I have to buy – "

"Bella. Can it. Trust me on this one; you are going to want to buy some. Besides, it hasn't been **that** long since you've had sex… has it?" Alice looked at me, a look of trepidation flickering across her features. "Six months, Alice."

Alice whipped her head to face me, shock clearly all over her face. "SIX MONTHS? How have you survived?"

"Gee, thanks Ali." I deadpanned, running my hand through my hair. "It just… hasn't sparked with anyone." "But you've been out on dates with guys right… what about them?" Alice was obviously shocked that I had managed to remain celibate for so long without cracking and just fucking the first random guy I saw.

_Didn't mean I hadn't thought about it._

"I went on dates with two guys. Mike and Tyler weren't exactly stellar. There was absolutely no chemistry. I don't think I could have had sex with them if I had wanted to." Alice cringed, and I just nodded my head.

We were approaching a small plane, which I assumed to be Alice's. The hatch was down, allowing us to climb up inside and take our seats. "Hello, Jasper." Alice said, referring to the tall, blonde man in a suit standing outside the plane. She reached her hand out to shake his hand, I assumed, but he grabbed it, turning it over, and stooping down to kiss the back of her hand. "Miss Alice." He said, a light southern drawl dragging in his deep voice.

Alice visibly swooned, and I laughed to myself; shaking my head, I walked past Alice and up the stairs.

The inside of the plane was amazing. It was small, but Alice was going to be the only person using this plane most of the time. It sat about ten people, and each seat was more of a recliner than an actual plane seat. _Holy fuck, Alice. You've outdone yourself._

I could also see the bar in the back, and I couldn't help but laugh. _Only Alice._

I took a seat in a chair closet to one of the windows, looking out over the airfield. I couldn't believe that it had been so long since I'd had a relationship, or even had sex.

The relationship I could do without; being a spy… every relationship I've built since my job has started has been based on lies. I've been an IT Specialist, a doctor with Doctors Without Borders, a research scientist… I've never told anyone what I actually do. I can't tell anyone what I actually do.

If I didn't love this job so much, I would be out in a heartbeat. I wanted a real relationship… or so I thought; but I know that there is no way that I'll ever be able to have one.

My last boyfriend, Max, suspected that I was cheating on him. Granted, he was kind of right because I ended up sleeping with the target. It sounds slutty, but it was what I needed to do, and made sense in the context of the mission.

I tried to tell him that I thought of him the whole time. It didn't really work out as I'd hoped.

Over time, I realized that I just wasn't cut out for a relationship. Maybe I wasn't a relationship person; maybe I was destined to be lonely… whatever. Thinking back on my relationships now, I realize that I'm glad that they ended. I was so much happier being single, as long as I got some sex every once and a while.

Alice came darting up the stairs as the blonde man, "Jasper" as Alice had called him, sauntered up and into the cockpit. _Alice is in love with the pilot._

"So Al. Who's that?" I asked, a smile on my face. "Shut up." She said, looking down at her fingernails. I knew she wanted me to ask about him, so I persisted. "Al, I'm jealous. He's gorgeous. Tell me everything. And don't say that nothing is going on. I know there is." Alice looked up at me and smiled. _I knew it._

Just then, Jasper walked back out of the cockpit, eyes on Alice, and said "Hey ladies, we're getting the green from the tower now, so go ahead and buckle up, and we'll be in the air in about five." He flashed a winning smile at Alice, and I thought her eyes were going to roll back in her head.

We sat in silence, neither of us moving until he was back in the cockpit with the door shut.

She immediately launched into a tirade about him the second he left, as we sat back in our seats to prepare for take off. "He's amazing, Bella. I hired him over the phone, so I had no idea what he looked like or anything; so don't even go there. He was in the Air Force for a few years, but once he was done his first tour, he decided that he didn't want to reenlist. He's working on getting a degree in history and post-secondary education right now, and needed some money to help pay for it. I offered to help him out by giving him a job, and oh my god, am I so glad I did that." Alice smiled, taking a deep breath, and leaning back in her seat, looking at me.

"Nothing has happened between us yet," she practically whispered, "but I just know that it will. I can feel it every time he's around. It's like we were meant to be together, Bella. He knows it too. The only problem is that neither of us know how to approach the situation since he is a hired worker."

I smiled over at her, as the plane began to take off, reaching over the pat her hand. "Qué será será, Ali." She grinned, tapping her forehead. "Don't I know it?" I laughed, shaking my head.

"You know Bella," she said, cocking her head at me, "the same applies to you. I'm going to tell you this, and it seems a little vague right now, but I want you to listen. Don't fight it, Bells. Just give in to it. What's going to happen is bigger than you. Just let it happen." Alice then pulled out her laptop and began looking at dresses (presumably for me) online on Barneys' website.

What Alice said usually freaked me out; this time wasn't any different. It was just… the way she said it, and what she said. Alice had never said anything like that to me before. Usually it was something along the lines of, "Don't worry about this mission, you got it", or "I would take extra clothes in your pack". Never, ever, had she told me not to fight something, or give me what sounded like an ultimatum.

I didn't like this. I didn't like it at all.

I closed my eyes, throwing my hand over my face to block out the sunlight, before drifting into a sweet, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"Bella!" I groaned, snuggling deeper down into my seat. "Bella!" Alice ripped my hand off my eyes, using it to pull me out of the seat. "Jesus, Alice!" I exclaimed, stumbling to my feet in a sleep-induced stupor.

"J," Alice yelled, as she pulled me out of the plane, "we're going to be back here in an hour, exactly. Have her ready to go!" "You got it, Alice." He yelled from the cabin.

Alice smiled, looking down at the ground, before looking back up at me. She winked at me, and then pulled me out of the plane.

"Alice," I said, as she pulled me along towards a waiting yellow Porsche, "what the hell is this?" "What the hell is what, Bella?" she asked innocently. I gestured towards the car, widening my eyes at her in question. "Oh… that." She said, as she got into the car. I followed suit, both of us buckling our seatbelts. Alice took off before she answered, "You know I like driving fast, Bells. Can't do that in a Volvo." She chuckled, a little more than someone normally would for taking a hit at a car brand, but I decided not to question it.

We arrived outside Barneys around 10:45, and I watched in awe and Alice leapt from the car, throwing her keys to the Barneys doorman. "Park her somewhere swanky." She said, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I'll be back in twenty. I'm Alice Brandon." She winked, grabbed my hand and pulled me into the store.

It was like entering another world.

I was used to grocery stores… I never went clothes shopping unless Alice dragged me along. I had gotten into the habit of Internet shopping in college, and had utilized it ever since. I had everything sent to an alternate address, of course. _Still… going and picking up boxes of clothing is still infinitely easier than standing around some store while some bitch-_

"Welcome to Barneys, my name is Alyssa, how can I help you?"

_Tries to charge up your credit card. Why do the women that work at these stores always have to be so beautiful? It makes me feel like even more of an idiot for trying on the clothes that I do. Rather, the clothes that Alice forces me into. _

"Yes, could you go get…" Alice rummaged around in her purse, before pulling out a piece of folded paper. "This dress?" She handed it to Alyssa, who quickly looked it over. "Of course, Ms. Brandon. Just take a seat, and I'll be right back. Did you need that in your normal size?" "No." Alice said, with a smile. She gestured towards me, "It's for her."

Alyssa looked me over for a second before smiling and running off to retrieve whatever was on that paper.

I looked at Alice hesitantly. "Alice…" I asked, trailing off, hoping that she would say something to fill the silence. She just smiled and laughed wickedly, pushing me onto a couch. She was now towering over me as she lifted her finger and pointed it at me authoritatively. "Behave. I'm going to La Perla. I've picked out the perfect outfit for you. Just try it on. By the time you get everything on, I'll be back." I took in a breath to protest, but she shook her finger at me. "COOPERATE." She said, her voice hard.

I couldn't do anything but nod dumbly as she spun on her heel and sauntered out of Barneys.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my iPhone. _Jesus Christ, 23 emails? I've been offline for two seconds. People really need to stop emailing me._

I clicked through emails, responding to the ones that I could without my computer in front of me, trying to forget about the fact that I was four hours from home, sitting in the lobby of Barneys while some girl looked for clothes handpicked by Alice.

_Oh, good god, help me._

Just then Alyssa flew around the corner, her hair staying perfectly still on her shoulders in the way that only beautiful girls could manage, and her hands shockingly empty. I looked at her questioningly, raising my eyebrow at her empty hands. She flashed a smile my way and said, "This way, Ms. Swan. We have you set up in the first of the private dressing rooms."

_How the fuck does she know my name?_ "Alice, Ms. Swan." She smiled winningly at me, and made me wonder if she was a beauty queen before ending up here. She laughed out loud and said, "As a child, Ms. Swan." _I really need to stop saying the things that I'm thinking in my head._ "You really should." Alyssa said, her laughter pouring out of her. I blushed bright red, and hid my face in my hands.

"I'm really sorry. When I get stressed out, I do this a lot. Though, the only time I get stressed out is when Alice brings me on these shopping excursions. I can handle anything but this." I said, shaking my head.

Alyssa smiled at me, "You'd be surprised how many people get stressed out when they go shopping. That's why my job exists." She laughed, "Though, I bet there are a bunch of other things that would stress you out. What if you had to, like…" she paused, trying to think of something good, "Well, what if you had to travel to a foreign country all by yourself?" I laughed, shaking my head. _If only she knew. _

"I used to do that all the time in college." I said. _There, that was partially true._

"Well then," she smiled, pulling my hand "you can certainly handle this, then."

She waved a hand to direct me to her side, and we began walking through the store. "We have you in the private dressing rooms in the back, so it's going to be a bit of a walk. I'm really sorry about this, but –" I cut her off, "I'm sure Alice insisted. Don't worry about it." She smiled, laughing at me. "You know her too well." I said, with a shake of my head. "Well, I should." Alyssa said. "Alice has been coming to Barneys bi-weekly for years. I always work for her when she's here. I love helping Alice." I cocked my head to the side and laughed. "You know Alice, right?"

She chuckled, before continuing. "Alice knows clothes, and it makes my job easier. But I love her for a million more reasons. She is the only person to ever come through here who actually cares what I think, the only person who even asks what is going on in my life. I can't even say that about most of my co-workers. Alice is a loving person. She commands every situation she's in, but she's loving. It's why she's so good at what she does."

I'm sure I would have blanched if I weren't trained otherwise. I quickly scanned my brain, trying to remember what Alice always told people who asked what she did._ White House Correspondent, that's right._ "She spends a lot of time with the families in the White House, believe it or not. She really loves what she does."

Alyssa smiled, "I wish I had a job like that. I love fashion, but this just isn't what I imagined for myself when I graduated from fashion school, you know?"

"I can only sympathize, Alyssa." I said, smiling at her, "I got my dream job."

We arrived in front of a series of doors, one of which Alyssa quickly unlocked and practically shoved me through. "What do you do?" She asked, as I took in the room around me.

"I'm an IT Specialist." I replied, using one of my token answers. I was still surprised that I was even able to respond.

There was a vanity area directly in front of me, complete with a 270-degree mirror and a couch. The wall to my left was covered in hooks, on which hung a black, strapless cocktail dress. The dress was a black taffeta, with a ruched bottom. It was gorgeous.

Alice has also had heels placed on the floor, and a selection of handbags placed in a large tote hanging off the wall. The handbags looked promising; the hells on the other hand… looking troubling. They were four-inch Jimmy Choo's. Not only were they WAY out of my price range, I was probably going to die walking in them.

I was in fairly good shape, and had managed to control a lot of the natural clumsiness that I was born with. Sometimes though, like when I wore skyscrapers on my feet, the clumsy qualities I so despised would rear their ugly heads.

Talk about embarrassing.

"Bella, stop freaking out, and get dressed. You're going to look lovely, but we just need to make sure the angles work for you." Alyssa yelled through the door. _Damn, she knows me._ "That's my job, Bella." She said, her laughter bubbling through the door.

Sighing, I drug myself over to the wall, slipping out of my clothes and pulling on the 'Alice Approved' outfit.

I had to admit, the dress looked fantastic. It hugged me in all the right places, and really played up my assets. Plus, it actually made it look like I had some semblance of an ass. _Yes!_

I bent down to grab the heels off the floor, and walked over to sit down on the couch. I looked at them warily, before strapping them on my feet.

Standing up slowly, I walked back over the wall, grabbing the bag of clutches off the wall. Rummaging through the bag, I pulled out a black and white Emilio Pucci clutch. It was edgy, and took a little bit of sweet out of the taffeta dress.

I spun in the mirror one last time, fluffing my waves down my back, before opening the door. Alyssa took one look at me and gasped, before shouting, "ALICE!"

Alice came running from… wherever she was, and nearly fell on the ground.

"BELLA. You look AMAZING!"

I smiled, kicking my heel in the air, and spinning around. "What do you think?" Alice asked, the cocky smile on her face telling me that she already knew.

"I love it, Ali. The dress is perfect, and the heels… I was so freaked when I saw them, but they are four inches of heaven. I never thought I'd actually tell you this, but you were right." Alice walked over and hugged me, my now 5'8" frame towering over hers; "I told you, Bella. Never forget how these designer shoes feel on your feet."

"So I look alright, then?" I asked, gesturing down at myself. Alice smiled, pulling my in front of a mirror, and placed her hands on my shoulders. "It begins with a look, Bella. And I'd say he agrees." Alice said with a giggle.

I looked up, seeing that she was looking at something. I followed her eyes, only to have them land on the most perfect man I had ever seen.

He was tall, probably about 6'4", with bronze hair sticking up in a million directions. He was lean, but muscular, and it was evident that he worked out, if not daily, at least every other day. He was in a tuxedo, getting measured for some last minute fittings I assumed. As my eyes travelled up his body, and memorized each feature of his face, my eyes met his. They were a piercing green, and I felt like they were stabbing right into my soul.

I realized that I was probably gaping at him like a moron, so I quickly diverted my eyes. I tried to look anywhere else, but I could still feel his eyes on me. Dragging my eyes back to him, I raked over his form once more before catching his eye. I bit my lip and winked, spinning around and walking back into the dressing room.

Changing quickly, I put everything that I was going to purchase back on the appropriate hangers and gathered it up in my arms. When I opened the door, Alice and Alyssa were gone, but the gorgeous man remained, straightening his cuffs on his tuxedo jacket. He was perfectly styled, and that only served to make my desire increase.

I turned around to shut the door, and when I spun back to walk to the front of Barneys, the man was staring at me again. Swallowing my apprehension, I placed my items on a nearby chair, and walked over to him, sticking out my hand. "Hello, I'm Bella." I said, allowing my eyes to move appreciatively over his form. My eyes caught his, and I smiled as he took my hand. He flashed me a crooked smile, and I'm surprised my knees didn't give out.

It was uneven and perfect, showing off his gleaming teeth and his perfect mouth. _I want to bite those lips. Sigh._

"I'm Edward." He said, he voice was accompanied with a gorgeous British accent, and was smooth and soft. _Like velvet._

Still grasping my hand, he pulled me closer so that we were officially violating the other's personal space. Leaning down, he whispered, "And I offer far more than four inches of heaven, Bella." His voice had taken on a rough and grating quality; it was sex.

And that's the first time I ever got wet in a Barneys dressing room.

I pulled back to look at him, flashing him a smile. "I'll just bet you do," I said, "but I have to be going. I have a plane to catch." I spun to walk away, but… casually allowed my hand to graze the front of his tuxedo pants.

_Oh. Good. God. He's hard. And huge. Why did I do that? Now I'll never stop thinking about him. Oh my god, oh my god, oh my –_

Edward grabbed the hand that had just violated him, and pulled me to him, pressing our bodies together. Leaning down, he pressed his lips to mine, softly but forcefully.

He pulled back, gauging my reaction. Once he saw I was satisfied, he whispered, "Are you sure I can't convince you to stay?" I grinned, and leaned up to kiss him once more.

This kiss was full of repressed sexual desire; whether it was mine, his, or both of ours I would never be sure, but I didn't mind. It was hot. _How is it that I am able to kiss him, without tongue no less, in the middle of a store? And why is it the hottest kiss of my life?_

I nibbled on his lip, and felt him groan into my mouth. I smiled, nibbling a bit more for good measure before pulling back. We were both panting.

He pressed his forehead to mine, licking his lips and said, "Please stay with me. I…" he trailed off, obviously conflicted. _He must have someone. Or something to do tonight. Fuck._

"I can't. I would if I thought that I could," _Isn't that the truth._ "but I have to go back to Baltimore. I just flew here to buy this dress. My friend is a little psychotic." I chuckled awkwardly.

He sighed, and whispered, "You're from Baltimore? You don't live in New York?" I frowned, and shook my head, my forehead moving against his.

He took a deep breath, his chest meeting mine as his lungs expanded. My breath caught in my chest and my hardened nipples rubbed against his solid upper body. _I really hope he didn't feel that. That would be endlessly embarrassing._

I stepped back, his eyes on fire with lust, and took my hand in his. Stooping down, he pressed his lips to my knuckles, kissing each one, before turning my hand over and placing a kiss on my palm.

I was putty in this man's hands. Wherever he wanted me, he could have me.

My whole body began trembling; I was certain he could feel it; there was no way to hide it. He looked up from my hand, and smiled my smile at me.

_My smile? God, you're sick. You just met him five minutes ago. _One side of my argued expertly. _Yeah, and you've already palmed his erection. Good going._

"Okay, Edward," I stuttered, taking my hand from him, and fidgeting uncomfortably, "I should get going. I have to be back to Baltimore in two hours… have to get ready for tonight." The light left his eyes at those words, and it crushed me. I didn't want to leave him, and that scared me.

I had never been so attached to anyone. Not my parents, not Jake, not one of my past boyfriends. I had known Edward for all of five minutes, and I was already thinking about what it would be like to be beside him for the rest of my life.

_So glorious… waking up to him every day?! I bet he has gorgeous sleep hair. And an even better sleep voice. Yum._

Smiling one last time, I winked, "Goodbye, Edward." He looked up, smiled my smile, and said, "Next time you're in New York, find me." Then he turned around, and walked back into his dressing room.

Sighing, and attempting to still my shaking legs, I walked out to the front of the store to find Alyssa and Alice leaning over the counter at one of the registers giggling like children. Alice leaned back when she heard me coming, and laughed, "How was your friend, Bells?" she asked.

_Have I mentioned that Alice was pure evil?_

"Sex on legs, Ali. But you knew that… which is why you two DITCHED ME!" I said, laughing. Alice smiled, and winked, letting me know that she had, somehow, known that I needed some alone time with him.

_I would have loved to have sex with him. Yes, while it was nice to finally have some welcome, and I mean WELCOME, male attention, I was now more frustrated than ever before. Fuck my life._

I took the clothes out of my hands, placing them on the counter, "Alright, Alyssa. Ring us up so we can get out of here. Apparently, I need to go to La Perla." I looked at Alice, rolling my eyes. Alice let out a tinkling laugh, and slapped my arm lightly, "Silly Bella, I already went to La Perla. I picked out a whole BUNCH of stuff while you were back here getting your stuff and hanging out with Mr. Sex on Legs."

"Shh!" I said, looking pointedly at Alice before looking worriedly around the store. Alice started laughing, but let it drop.

Not two minutes later, Alice and I had retrieved her keys from the doorman, and were walking down fifth; she was staring at me, trying to get me to talk, and I was actively looking at anything but Alice's face. We reached the car, still in silence, though I could feel Alice's eyes on me as I buckled my seatbelt. After I was fastened, I stared out the window; I was really trying to avoid the line of questioning I was sure to be subjected to. I didn't even want to know my own answers.

Suddenly, Alice reached over and jerked my arm, turning me to face her. "Spill it, Bella! I'm tired of sitting here waiting on you. You and I BOTH know that you are going to tell me everything, so you might as well hop to it!" I stared at her for a few more seconds before launching into a long tirade about everything.

As we drove, I told her everything. I told her about my reaction to seeing him for the first time, what he said, what he sounded like, what it did to me. I told her about kissing him, and how I didn't even think about the fact that I shouldn't be kissing a man I just met. I told her about his eyes and how they captured my heart, how, when I allowed my mind to drift for too long, I found myself imagining some sort of sick future.

"But Alice," I said, looking down at my knuckles_… the knuckles he'd just kissed…_ "Nothing can come of this. He lives in New York, I live in Baltimore, and I can't even tell him what I DO FOR A LIVING! How am I supposed to do anything?! How can I do anything?!" I threw my head into my hands, and I felt Alice's hand come over and rub my shoulders. "You'll figure it out, Bells."

"I won't though!" I exclaimed, my body suddenly becoming overcome with panic. "This is the first time in my life that I have felt something even closely resembling 'real' and I'm forced to give it up. I could just lie and feed him one of my usual lines in regards to employment, but I can't base this relationship on lies, Alice. I just can't. I'm tired of it. I'm done." I took a deep, shaking breath, trying to control my panic.

I hadn't had a panic attack in the longest time… I had been forced to get a hold of them when I started my job. You can't exactly be a spy and have panic attacks. But now, here I was, sitting in Alice's car, on the verge of a panic attack.

I reverted back to my old methods of controlling them.

I threw my head between my legs, forced my mind to slow down, and focused on my breathing and the words of the song that was pouring through the radio. Then I felt Alice place a tentative hand on my shoulder, and it helped to ground me. I've never been more thankful for her in my life. And she'd given me a lot of reasons to be thankful for her over the course of our friendship.

Alice knew that I used to have panic attacks, of course… she had just never seen one in action. I had gotten very good and controlling my thoughts, and had given in a few weeks before my interview for the CIA and gone on anxiety medication. It was probably the best decision I had ever made up until that point.

Once I was feeling better, I sat back up, and looked out the window. We were almost back at the airport, thank goodness. I was ready for a day of pampering. Alice allowed me to sit in silence the rest of the trip, which totaled all of about ten minutes, but I was still amazingly thankful.

"You know, Al," I said, as we climbed out of the car and walked across the tarmac towards the plane, "I just wish that I was able to have a normal relationship with someone. I know I'm not the type, but I think it is just unsettling because I know that even if I ever come around, it's still no dice for me." Alice wrapped her arm around my shoulder reassuringly. "You know, Jasper knows what I do. We aren't even together yet, Bells, but he knows. But I felt comfortable telling him, because I knew that he needed to know. We're going to get married Bella I just know it. And from the look on your face this afternoon, I would say that Edward made you feel the same way."

I shrugged, because it was the least responsible thing to do.

Alice sighed, walking up the steps to the plane. She turned around quickly when you reached the top, looking me in the eyes. "Talk to Jasper. See what he says. You have five minutes." And she pulled me up the stairs and towards the cockpit. "Jazz?" Alice said, knocking on the door. The door flew open, revealing a staggered Jasper.

_I wonder if I looked like that this afternoon. God, Jasper is so obviously in love with her._ I looked at Alice. _Not that she's much better off…_

Stooping down, Jasper kissed Alice's cheek, and waved her off to go sit down. "I heard Alice say that you wanted to talk to me…" he trailed off so I could introduce myself. "Bella." I said, sticking my hand out.

He leaned down to kiss the back of my hand, like Edward had, but this time was vastly different. There was no spark, no set of lips trailing along each of my knuckles in a completely sensual display of affection. It was just a kiss on the back of my hand from a good old Southern gentleman.

Jasper stepped back into the cockpit, waving me in and shutting the door behind us. "Alight, Bella. Shoot." I smiled at his adorable Southern drawl, and said, "I'm not a relationship person, Jasper. And I met a guy today that is making me reconsider all that. But it would never work out between us."

Jasper looked me over for a second before responding. "Well, why do you think it wouldn't work out? Better yet, why do you get such a strong feeling about him?"

"I don't know, that's just it. He struck me… that's the only way to explain it. It's like something inside me turned on, like I'd always been wired incorrectly, and the electrician finally showed up. It's amazing. And it won't work because I can't be honest with him… about everything that I do." "Your job?" he asked, looking at me knowingly.

"Jesus," I laughed, "did Alice spill everything?" He smiled, and shook his head, "No, but I know that it was difficult for her to tell me what she actually did. And since I know that you two work together…" "Ahhh." I said, nodding my head.

"What was it like when you met Alice?" I asked, trying to figure out if my feelings for Edward were even in the same book as "normal".

"Oh my god," Jasper said, clasping his hand over his heart, "I felt the same way you feel now. Like I had been in de-fib and someone jumped my heart. Alice is a breath of fresh air for me. No matter how much time I spend with her, everything is fresh, new, and wonderful. I'm drunk on the feeling, and I hope that I always will be. I want to marry this woman, but it's a little difficult to do anything about our relationship right now."

I nodded, as though I knew exactly what he was talking about. "Jasper, I'm going to tell you this right now, and I expect you to follow through." Jasper nodded, willing to take anything I said and run with it. "Just do it, Jasper. She feels the same way. You have until the end of the week." I smiled, patted his head, and turned to walk out. "Now, let's get this plane in the sky, eh?" Jasper laughed, and said, "Okay, Bella. Go join my future wife."

I smiled at his words, and walked back out to join Alice. "Hey, Ali," I said, as I walked back to the cabin, finding Alice preparing us drinks at the bar. "Cosmo?" She asked, handing me the drink and sitting down in one of the chairs.

I sipped the pink beverage, walking over to the chair next to hers and plopping down. "Do you have safe calling on this thing?" I asked, as we buckled into our seats for take-off. Alice laughed, "Of course I do, dear. You forget what I do for a living." "White House correspondent?" I asked cheekily. Alice laughed heartily, "Shut up, Bella. But yes, I have safe chat on here. This whole thing is like a flying version of your office." I smiled, "Sweet. I need to get in touch with Jake once we get up in the air. I have a feeling that I'm not going to have time to talk to him about my contact any other time today."

Alice snorted, moving to clasp her hand over her mouth quickly to stifle the sound. "Alice…" I said, becoming worried about the mental state of my best friend.

"Don't worry about it, Bella. You'll see."

_Okay…_

I waited until we were up in the air, before walking over to the phone that was on a table near the bar and sitting down. I dialed Jake's number and waited a few seconds before he answered.

"Talk to me." "Hey Jake, it's Bella. I was wondering what you'd heard from MI6…?" "Hey, Bells! Are you calling from Alice's plane? It's sick isn't it?" I laughed, and said, "Yes, Jake, it's awesome. Now what do you know about my contact? I'm not going to have a lot of time to talk to you about it today, and I wanted to get this done before we landed back in Baltimore."

"Wait, where did you guys go?" I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose between my fingertips. "You know how Ali is, Jake. She wanted to take me up to Barneys to buy a dress for tonight. So we're flying back from New York. Now SPILL!" He laughed, clearly amused at how easily fed up I was.

"Alright, Bella. His name is Edward Cullen," "Cullen?" I interrupted, "of the Cornwall Cullen's? As in disgustingly rich Cullen?!" Jake sighed, "Yes Bella."

"Holy fuck!" I said, laughing. "How did MI6 score him?"

Jake laughed, " As children, Edward and his brother, Emmett, were surprisingly persistent when it came time for them to decide what they wanted to do with their lives. Edward always wanted to work for MI6, and it turned out that his scads of money actually really helped him out in a lot of situations. Because he didn't have a title or anything like that, people in the international community didn't know him, and those from the UK didn't really care. His great-grandfather was Duke of Cornwall, but his grandfather abandoned the title; he didn't want to have to subject his family to the lifestyle." "Wow," I said, "that was really lucky." "You're telling me." Jake said.

"Alright, so what am I supposed to do? How am I approaching this? Have you gotten in touch with them yet?"

"Yep, just got off the phone with them, actually. They want to play this… interestingly." "Oh god, Jake. What?" "Don't worry, Bells, it's nothing you haven't done before. They just want you to play it like you and Edward are a couple. When you get there, you are to greet Edward like he's been off on business for a few weeks back in London."

"Okay… I can do that." I let my mind create a number of situations so I was prepared for anything. "Why do they want us to play it this way, exactly?" I asked, unsure. "They think that it looks more legitimate. I don't really know, Bells. I just take orders." "Ain't that the truth…" I scoffed jokingly. "Ha ha ha. Shut it, Bella. Alright, let me give you a more logistical breakdown of what's going to happen. You ready to listen?" "Of course, Jake." I said, "Shoot."

And shoot he did. Jake launched into a fifteen-minute discussion of how I was to act this evening, where I was to find my contact… Edward (weird, seeing as how Barneys man was also named Edward… and British.) I didn't have a picture of him yet, but from the instructions that Jake gave me, Edward was supposed to "surprise" me at the gala. Apparently, I was supposed to stand outside the jellyfish tank, and he was going to walk up behind me and give me the code phrase.

"What's the phrase?" I asked. "The phrase is 'my angel, my all, my very self'." "It's the first line from one of Beethoven's love letters." I said, sighing. "Is it?" Jake asked? "Edward chose it. You'll have to congratulate him on being well read."

"Hmm." I said, looking off into space.

_Maybe pretending to be in a relationship with this guy won't be so bad. He's well read, British… now all we need to know is what he looks like. _"Are you going to get a picture of him so I know who to expect?"

Jake sighed into the phone, and I knew that it was bad news. "Well… MI6 doesn't want to give it over. They said that because he was going to be identifying you, you didn't need to know what he looked like. Apparently, they don't easily give out agent pics."

"Well that's good, I guess. But Edward knows who he is looking for, right?" I asked, examining my fingernails. _The woman at the nail salon is going to HATE me._ "Yes, from what I hear he is being briefed as we speak. He is getting a screen shot of you, and a little bit of information about what you look like. He is supposed to identify you from there. We just got your receipt from Barneys, so we were even able to tell him what you would be wearing tonight."

I loved working for the CIA. It made my entire life so much easier.

"Thanks, Jake. Alright, well, Alice and I are going to have girl time. I'm going to be busy all day, and I won't be near a secure phone until at least seven. I'll be ready at eight thirty sharp; I should be at the Aquarium at quarter of nine, depending on traffic. Am I allowed to take my car?"

"Yes, Bells. It's actually encouraged." "Why's that?" I asked.

Jake laughed into the phone. "You are pretending to be normal. Showing up in an Aston to one of these kinds of events is normal. You'd be out of place if you took the MTA."

I sighed, remembering the last time we had gotten the intel on the situation wrong.

I was working in Bangkok, on assignment of course, trying to get in with this sex trafficker. Jake had me driving a car around Bangkok, even though I was posing as a poor immigrant… yeah, I stood out. Thank god I figured this out within the first day of being in the city, and was able to ditch the car and invest in a pair of comfortable shoes.

I finished the assignment within a month.

"Alright, just call me if you need anything. Have you thought up any new gadget projects for me to work on?" Jake asked, excitement leaking through his voice.

Because Jake was the man behind the curtain to most people, they tended to forget that he had an amazing ability to work with technology. A lot of the gadgets I had were either made by or designed by Jake; those that weren't, Jake had taken apart before he gave them to me to make them better. It was amazing what that boy could do with a screwdriver and a few circuit boards.

"Not really; I haven't been thinking about it a lot lately. I mean, I would love it if you could create me some wireless headphones like my earpieces… but that's not exactly espionage related." Jake chuckled into the phone and said, "No, it's not. But I'll do it for you until you find me something better to tinker with."

I smiled broadly, thinking about Jacob's huge hands working on making me tiny, invisible ear-buds.

"Alright, well, Ali and I are going to have girl time. I'll call you if I need anything."

"Alright, good luck tonight Bells."

And we clicked off.

Walking back over to Alice, I plopped down in the chair, and angled my body so I could look at her. She was gazing out the window, clearly lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about, Al?"

Alice sighed, rubbing her tiny face in between her hands before saying, "I don't know what I'm going to do, Bella. I think I'm in love with him. But… we just met a few weeks ago. And he works for me. I can't… ugh!" She bent over, throwing her face down into her lap, letting her hands dangle at her sides.

I laughed, rubbing a soothing hand up and down her back. "Alice, this is a completely simple conversation. You love him. End of story. Who cares if he works for you… this isn't like some sort of company. You hired him to fly your plane, and you two fell in love." Alice looked up at me, shocked. "What do you mean "you two fell in love"?" "He loves you, Ali. He told me so himself, but even if he hadn't… I would have known. It's written all over him, Alice. Just like it's written all over you."

Alice looked down, probably starting to think about her options.

"Alice, look at me." I said, my tone playfully forceful. She obliged, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips. "When this plane lands, I am going to get in the car we left back at the airpark and drive to my appointments. I am also going to call you a limo, and make you dinner reservations. You are going to take Jasper to dinner." She opened her mouth to protest, and I raised a warning finger and cut her off. "I don't want to hear it. Alice, everything is going to work out. You know it, I know it. Now stop protesting, and let yourself think about it."

Alice smiled her genuine smile before reaching over to wrap me in a hug. "Thanks, Bella." She said, her voice muffled by my hair. I smiled, "Anytime, Al."

* * *

True to my word, I called the first limo company on google search the second I got off the plane.

After practically pushing Alice into the cockpit and running out of the plane like a six-year-old, I figured I at least needed to make some sort of effort to repay them.

Knowing Alice, I knew that she would want to go somewhere low-key, but still nice on her first date out with Jasper. I made her reservations at the Black Olive, a restaurant on Bond Street downtown. It was nice, yet rustic and relaxed in a way that only a Baltimore restaurant could manage.

Have I mentioned that I loved Baltimore?

On top of being absolutely amazing, the food is to die for, and the location is brilliant. Bond Street is in the heart of downtown, and there are even a few bars nearby in case Alice needed a little liquid courage before asking Jasper to stay the night at her place.

Because I knew that she would.

Checking my watch, I realized that it was about quarter after one. "Fuck," I said quietly, as I jumped into the car, "I have my salon appointment in fifteen minutes."

I sped to the salon, ready to begin my half-day of relaxation.

One brow wax, leg wax, underarm wax, bikini wax, mani/pedi, and massage later, my body felt like Jello.

I drove Alice's car back to her place, which was about a five-minute walk from mine, and started back home.

Dropping my keys and wallet on the table by the door, and yanking my shoes off my feet, I padded into my bedroom placing my shoes carefully on the rack I had retrieved them from.

"What time is it…?" I asked out loud, leaning out of my closet to take a quick look at my bedside table. It was three-thirty.

"Well…" I said, silently marveling at the fact that I was having a conversation with myself. "I guess I could squeeze in a two hour nap."

Throwing back my blankets, I stripped down to my underwear and climbed into bed. Making sure to set my alarm for five thirty, I rolled over, closed my eyes, and allowed myself to drift into dreamland.

* * *

"_What do you think you're doing, Bella?" Edward asked, stalking towards me in the dressing room. "Nothing" I murmured; my voice and body were trembling, and I was unable to stop it. As I walked backwards, I found myself walking into the dressing room._

_ My back was pressed against the wall, and I looked over at Edward leering at me from the doorway. Stepping inside the dressing room, he shut the door gently, flipping the lock, the click echoing in the air._

_My breathing began to pick up, as Edward stalked toward me; his body was long and lean, his tendons bulging in his arms and neck as he strained to control himself. It was a lost cause, right from the start; we both knew it._

_Suddenly, Edward was in front of me, his hands on either side of my head. His scent filled my nose and mouth, and I could taste him on my tongue. Had the dressing room suddenly gotten hotter, or was that just me? I felt a bead of sweat trickle down my face, rounding around to my chin, where it decided to sit. I looked up to find Edward's eyes tracing the path the sweat had left; he seemed to be contemplating something._

_So quickly that I wasn't sure it actually happened, Edward leaned down, tracing his tongue along the path. I was both mesmerized and stunned. "What?" Edward asked, his voice rough with passion, yet still light and curious. "You…" I wasn't able to finish the thought, so I merely pointed at my face._

_Edward laughed, before leaning down to whisper "You taste __fantastic__, Bella. I bet you taste just as wonderful everywhere." I moaned, my head forcing itself backwards, causing my back to arch off of the wall and collide with Edward's body._

_When my hips met his, I could have sworn that I was in ecstasy. _

_The contact must have sparked something within him, because before I knew it, we were both naked and panting, while Edward fumbled around in his wallet, presumably to look for a condom._

"_Just, fucking…" I started to get frustrated until Edward reached a hand down in between my folds to tease my sensitive flesh. I bucked against his hand, moaning loudly, but forced myself to finish what I was saying. "Don't worry about a condom. I'm clean, and on the pill. You're clean, right?" I asked, gasping for air, trying to control the rapid movement of my hips against his hand. Edward flashed me my smile, leaning down, and licked and nibbled his way up my neck to my earlobe. Taking my earlobe in between his teeth, he continued to tease my flesh, forcing me to the edge. "Edward, I, uhhhhh…"_

_I couldn't control my thoughts. They were everywhere and nowhere all at once. All I could think about was Edward's hand between my thighs, and how wonderful I was feeling at that very moment._

_He pulled his hand away just as I was about to orgasm, causing me to growl at him. He chuckled, picking up my left leg, and swinging it across his back as he lined up at my entrance. Slowly, he began pushing in and - _

"Shit." I woke up gasping, my body covered in a thin sheen of sweat. I clapped my hand to my forehead, closing my eyes and trying to slow my breathing down.

_That was the single-most erotic dream I had ever had._

Trying, unsuccessfully, to ignore the feeling between my legs, I reached my hand down between my folds and began playing the scene from my dream out in my head.

Once I came, I got up, peeled my sweaty clothes off of my body, and threw them in the laundry basket, as I walked into the shower.

My shower was quick, as I methodically went through the normal motions. _Rinse, Shampoo, Rinse, Condition, Body, Face, Rinse._

The shower was always my favorite palce to think, and even though I knew that I needed to think about what had just happened, I decided that it was probably better that I didn't. I couldn't stand the fact that I had just masturbated to the idea of having hot, illicit sex with a man that I had just met. A man that I would never see again.

See, in my opinion, it was one thing to think about having sex with someone you might potentially see again… or someone that you would actually end up having sex with. It was another thing entirely to think about having sex with someone you would never meet or see again.

That was why that only "made-up" fantasies I had involved book characters. They may not actually exist, but you can go and visit them any time you want. Because of this, Mr. Darcy and I were well acquainted.

If you know what I mean.

Walking back into my bedroom, I noticed that I was about six, and I knew that I needed to start getting ready. Slowly toweling off, I pulled on sweatpants and an old button up, walking back into my bathroom to sit down at my vanity.

I studied my face for a moment, trying to decide what kind of makeup I should apply, given the event and my outfit.

I finally selected Retrograde Urban Decay eye shadow, Lancome Le Crayon Khôl Waterproof Eyeliner, and NARS Striptease lip gloss. The look was intense for my eyes, as I opted for a deep purple eye shadow to really play up my brown eyes. By merely glossing my lips, I still drew some attention to my mouth, but allowed people to really look into my eyes.

I slowly applied the makeup, making sure that everything looked polished and well-done, before I blow dried my hair. Taking a curling iron, I worked on defining my natural curls, trying to make them look more sophisticated. Finally deciding that I liked my look, I ran a hand through my hair to loosen them up, and give my hair a tossed look.

_I look fucking awesome._

Smiling, I walked back out into my bedroom, pulling out the Barneys bag from earlier. Tucked inside, of course, was the La Perla bag that Alice had gotten. Rolling my eyes, I opened it up, spotting a box of adhesive bra cups, and pair after pair of lacy lingerie sets. "I can't believe Alice did this…" I muttered to myself, pulling the bag out and dumping everything out on the bed. The pairs were all matched together, thank god, so I quickly threw those into a separate pile on my bed.

Once I had sorted through everything, I came across a single black thong, with no matching bra, with a tag on it. Written on the tag, in Alice's gorgeous script was the following:  
_Bella,_

_ Don't fight me on this. Wear them._

_ Love you,_

_ Alice_

I sighed, taking her advice. As I pulled the thong up over my legs, I marveled at how soft the fabric was, and how sexy I already felt with it on. _I guess this is what Alice means when she says "Power Panties". _

Unbuttoning my button-up, I popped on my adhesive bra, taking a moment to admire my body in the mirror.

I had a pretty decent body, mostly due to the fact that I worked out religiously twice a day. I knew that I wouldn't have time to work in my weight training workout tonight, so I had done it this morning, but I usually go for a five to ten mile run in the morning, and lift at night. Over the years, my body has gotten stronger, and leaner, but I made sure that my body still kept its soft, feminine curves.

What can I say, I love them.

Sliding my sweats back on, and buttoning a few buttons on my button up, I checked the clock, making sure I had enough time to eat something before dinner. _Awesome, _I thought, _it's not even seven thirty. Hello, dinner!_

Walking back into the kitchen, I set to work, reheating chicken from the night before, and throwing together a quick alfredo sauce, while I cooked up some penne and peas. While I waited for the pasta to cook, and the alfredo to simmer with the chicken and peas I'd made, I made myself a small salad.

Walking into my living room, I plopped down on my couch, leaning over to grab the remote and click on the BBC. I love watching the news, weirdly enough, but I will only watch BBC and WJZ-13 Baltimore. I cannot stand American news stations… they are all way to biased for me.

The only reason I watch WJZ is for Manic Monday anyway. That, and I should probably know what's going on in my city.

As I listened to the anchor's soothing British voice, I found my mind drifting back to the other British voice I had recently been listening to… the one that belonged to a sexy man in a gorgeous tuxedo with piercing green eyes.

Smiling to myself, I shook my head, clearing his image from my brain, and proceeded to quietly eat, listening to Matt Frei's lovely voice give me a breakdown about the happenings in the world today.

Around seven forty five, I walked back into the kitchen, quickly throwing together my pasta, and cleaning all my dishes, before walking back to the living room. I ate my dinner quickly, trying to allow myself enough time to get ready before I had to leave.

Even though Jacob told me that I was going to need to leave here by eight thirty to be on time, I tended to live by the idea that "to be early is to be on time, to be on time is to be late, and to be late is to not show up at all."

Of all the things that I had learned from my father, that was definitely my favorite. It paid off so often in my life, that I knew I would be eternally grateful.

I finished everything by five after eight, and threw my dishes into the dishwasher before I ran off to my office. Quickly punching in the lock codes on my gadget cabinet, I pulled out my ear piece, my "freckle mic", a few audio bugs, a few edible tracking devices, and my spy-approved iPhone. This had the same number as my other iPhone, so if anyone called me, it would go straight through to this phone, as long as the other one was off. That way, it still seemed to function like a normal iPhone, and thus didn't cause anyone to become suspicious. This one, however, was capable of x-ray vision, infrared vision, night vision, heat vision, text translation via an image (though, I was able to fluently speak twenty languages, so I hardly ever had to use it), and scads of other things that made it the Swiss Army Knife of my spying world.

I was in love with this thing.

I grabbed a small zippered pouch, which to the casual observer looked like a makeup pouch, and walked back to my room. I grabbed the Emilio Pucci bag and threw it on to my bed, while I placed my mic on my neck, and secured my listening device in my ear.

Walking into my bathroom, I grabbed a few of my hollowed out make up containers, which I used as holding devices, and walked back to my room. I threw in my actual lip gloss, because nothing is more annoying that needing to reapply, and put the edible trackers in the bottom of the faus-mascara container. I then put the bugs into the bottom of an eye shadow container, throwing them into my simple black zip up (that really deflected x-rays so people couldn't see what was inside the bag), and placed them, along with my spyPhone into my Emilio Pucci.

Sliding out of my clothes again, I applied my signature scent, Miss Dior Cherie, before walking over and grabbing my gown off of a hook in my closet. Sliding the gown over my hips, and feeling the smooth taffeta on my curves… was absolutely heaven.

I sat on my bed and secured my Jimmy Choo pumps, standing up to admire myself one more time before I walked out the door.

I grabbed my bag, and my car keys, and took the elevator down to the garage to my car. I settled into my car, taking a deep breathe before starting her up. _I love the purr of the engine._

Pulling out carefully, I reached over, turning on some Coldplay to accompany me on my ten-minute drive to the Aquarium. Traffic wasn't nearly as horrific as I thought that it was going to be, but I still had a few extra minutes to sit in my car. Pressing lightly on my mic to signal that I wanted to make a call, I called Jacob really quickly. "Hey, Bells. You almost there?"

"Yep," I said, leaning up to make sure that my makeup was still good as I glanced at myself in the rear-view mirror. "I just wanted you to know that I was on my way. Have you turned my tracker on yet?" I asked, looking my arm. "I didn't feel anything." I said. "No, I haven't turned it on yet, Bells. You want me to do that now?" "Sure, go ahead." I replied, as I waited for the quick jolt in my neck.

When I first started my job, I was told that I was going to need a tracking device installed in my neck to make sure that they never lost sight of where I was. I didn't like the idea of someone being able to watch my all the time, so I managed to convince them to install one that would give me a little zap every time it was turned on and off. The two zaps were different, much like morse code. When it was turned on, it would zap once, and when it was turned off, it would zap twice.

The first time it went off, I jumped about ten feet in the air because it scared the absolute shit out of me. Now, I was so used to it, that I didn't even think twice. I just waited for the zap, and went about my business. Once I felt the device come on, I smiled, "Thanks, Jake. Alright, well, I'm pulling up to the valet now. I'll call you if anything goes wrong. Watch my back." I said with a smile and Jake replied, "I always do, Bells."

It was our signature sign out. The first time I had met Jake, I had told him to "Watch my back." We were six, and I was going to try and sneak cookies out of the kitchen for us to share. It was still amazing to know that Jake still had my back, even though we were twenty-six now.

As I pulled up to the front of the valet line, I got out, smiling at the man who went to get in. "Take good care of here, now." I said, with a smile, and I slipped the man a twenty. He grinned, pocketing the money without checking the bill size, and drove off.

I walked into the Aquarium, walking immediately over to the open bar. "Vodka and cranberry please." I said, placing five dollars in the tip glass. The bartender smiled at me, before beginning to make my drink. I reached into my bag, pulling out my phone to check the time. _Twenty five after eight. Alright, he should be here soon. _

I scanned the crowd, looking to see if this "Laurent" figure was here yet. I saw him standing over near the open tanks, leaning slightly over to watch the rays and turtles swim around with some of the large fish. There didn't appear to be anyone with him, but I would continue to discretely monitor him just to make sure.

After getting my drink, I walked over to one of the tanks that held a bunch of brightly colored, and presumably exotic fish. I stood their quietly, sipping my drink, and watching the fish swim around together, with no idea that they weren't actually in an ocean, but in a never ending cycle, with the same fish, and the same space.

Suddenly, I felt someone coming up behind me. I felt my shoulders tense, but I forced myself to relax. I didn't need anyone who just happened to be casually passing by to think anything even remotely suspicious about me. The person then leaned down into my ear, placing his hands on my hips, and in a silken British voice whispered, "My angel, my all, my very self." I smiled, playing the part, when I heard my cue. Turning around in his arms, I found myself looking at the man's chest. I dragged my eyes up his form, which was quite solid and gorgeous, and looked into his eyes. And I immediately felt like my heart was going to explode.

"Edward?!" I asked, shocked to see the man that I had encountered in the Barneys dressing room today. I felt my face flush with heat, as I tried to hide my face.

Edward's hand caught my face, forcing me to look at him. "Bella? When they said… I never…" He stuttered, looking down, trying to think of something to say to remedy the situation.

Never, in a million years, had I thought that I would be anywhere even remotely near Edward again. When I left him at the dressing room in Barneys that was where I intended him to stay. And now… now I find out that he is a spy.

What the hell am I supposed to do?


	3. Chapter 3

**A.N.: THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE THAT IS STILL WILLING TO STICK BY THIS STORY.**

**Okay, so I know that no one reads these, but on the off chance you do, I cannot apologize enough about the delay on this chapter. It's finals time, and my life is going to be a little crazy for the next few weeks. I can almost guarantee that the next chapter won't be up until sometime after 15 May. Sorry in advance!**

**Either way, I hope you enjoy this installment. As always, reviews are needed to help me improve/greatly appreciated! 3**

**What I Own: A four play collection of Shakespeare's comedies**

**What I Don't: Edward, Bella, or anything the SM created.**

* * *

Just a few, short hours ago, I was on top of the world.

I was getting ready to start a new mission, something that always put me over the moon, I had found a fantastic new outfit while I was on a girl's day trip with my best friend, and I had gotten to make out with probably the hottest guy I had ever seen.

A guy that I assumed lived in Manhattan. A man I never thought that I would see again.

_I hate being wrong. UGH. I have no experience with this._

The universe was clearly messing with me, or my karma was totally out of whack, because this was just plain cruel. Of all the places to see Edward again, it had to be on my mission. And, of course, he had to be a part of it.

I don't know how I would feel if he had just happened to be here… maybe it would have been easier because I would have had to ignore him.

_Either that, or we would have ended up going behind a tank and fucking like animals._

Which would not be good. Well, the sex would be great… but having to deal with the repercussions of the sex… not exactly how I wanted to be spending my time. I had a nuclear crisis to stop, after all.

I looked back up at Edward and he looked absolutely panicked. I could tell that he was trying to rein it in, because we were supposed to be acting like a couple. I forced the tension in my body to dissipate, before smiling a wide smile and wrapping my arms around his shoulders, pressing my hips against his.

"Sorry, baby. I was just so surprised to see you. You weren't supposed to be back from New York until next week." I said; my voice was soft, but loud enough that the people nearby could hear me. _That meant Laurent could hear me. Perfect._

Edward caught on immediately, smiling down at me. "It's okay, love." Edward whispered, leaning down and ghosting his lips across my cheek. "I surprised you. Now, how about you tell me what I missed while I was gone."

"Well," I began, as he wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me away from the jelly tank. "I was in New York today. Alice and I went to Barneys to buy this dress." I smiled when he gripped my waist, not really sure where I was going with this.

"You **do** look gorgeous, Bella." Edward said, grabbing my hand and spinning me out so he could get a better look at me. I felt myself blush as his eyes trailed up and down my form, drinking in every line, every curve. Suddenly, he pulled me back to him, burying his face in my neck.

His breath was hot and sensual on my skin as he whispered, "You look good enough to eat." His gravelly voice shot right to my core, lighting every nerve in my body on fire. Just then, I felt his mouth open and the pressing of his teeth into the skin of my neck.

I repressed a moan, and forced myself to pull away, giggling. "Edward!" I said, swatting him playfully with my hand. "Let me finish!"

Edward's eyes flashed mischievously as he said, "Baby, you and I both know that I always let you finish." I started laughing, swatting at Edward's chest.

_This was far too easy. I shouldn't be able to just… act this way with him. I've never been like this with anyone… so why is it so easy to be like this with him?_

I was absolutely perplexed. One side of me argued that I was just putting on a really good show for the sake of the mission. I knew that this was probably true, but there was a tiny part of me that kept telling me otherwise. This part insisted that this was so easy because it was supposed to be, because we were supposed to be.

"As I was saying…" I said, rolling my eyes and laughing, "Alice and I were in New York today." "How was it?" Edward asked, his eyes darkening to a deeper shade of emerald. The light was dancing in his eyes, and it seemed as though it was lighting his eyes from the inside. His grip on my waist momentarily tightened, and the fire that erupted over my skin was more than a little shocking.

"It was fantastic." I said, in as sultry a voice as I could manage.

Edward pulled me to him, wrapping me up in a hug; I could feel his muscles trembling in his chest, and it surprised me; why was he shaking like that? Was he nervous?

Edward pulled away awkwardly after a few seconds, and in an attempt to divert his eyes, looked down; he noted that my drink was empty, and promptly swept the empty glass out of my hand, and pulled me towards the bar.

"What would you like Bella?" Edward asked, his lilting British voice still totally stunning me. I loved the way my name sounded on his lips. I shook my head lightly, trying to focus. "Cosmo." I responded, smiling at him. He brought my hand to his lips, kissing each knuckle before flashing me a smile and walking towards the bar.

I took the opportunity to turn around and scope out the area. I spun around slowly, trying not to make myself stand out anymore that I needed to, and let my eyes scan quickly, yet effectively, over the area in front of me. I saw Laurent standing over near a tank of some tropical fish, watching them intently, with what appeared to be a rum and coke in his hand.

Other people were mulling around outside the bar, waiting to get their drinks; some people were leaning over the bar, trying to get the attention of the bartenders, while others were more content with leaning against the bars edge, watching people.

I made quick work of committing the people I saw to memory, ready to pull them up later if I needed to.

I smiled when I felt a hand on my waist, the warmth already familiar to me. Edward leaned down, pressing his lips to my cheek. "Back, baby." He said, holding out the bright pink beverage to me. I grinned, taking it from his hands, immediately bringing the glass to my lips. Taking a sip, I looked down, taking notice of what Edward had gotten.

"Is that whiskey?" I asked, a grimace in my voice. "Yes. Jameson," he said, a smirk slowing forming on his lips, "it's good for the soul." I laughed out loud, before rolling my eyes. "Sure it is!" I started walking away, when his arm went around my waist, pulling me to him. Placing a kiss on my temple, he mumbled, "I adore you."

I smiled warmly, unsure of what to say.

I had been on missions where I had to pretend to be in a relationship with someone before. It was just a part of the game that I was used to. Maybe it's slutty, but I had no problem kissing, or even sleeping with, people that I wasn't dating. I never had. I had an uncanny ability to separate physical connections with love, and I intended on keeping it that way.

But Edward… Edward ignited something in me that I have never seen before. My relationship with him felt natural, where the others clearly felt forced. Never once did I feel even remotely uncomfortable when he grabbed my hand, or touched my skin.

_Maybe it was because we were working on the same side… _I told myself, blatantly ignoring the other times I had to "date" my partners.

_Who am I kidding? I have no idea what's going on here._

I smiled, settling into Edward's side as we walked around the party. We walked in front of some tanks, stopping and admiring the colorful fish swimming around, occasionally talking to one of the other people that happened to be near us.

One woman, who introduced herself as Heidi, asked Edward and I how long we had been together. "You two look absolutely in love," she said. I didn't know what to say, because Edward and I hadn't discussed what we would tell people if they were to ask. Edward, thankfully, took this one. He smiled, pulling me into his side and leaning down to kiss my temple. "We've been together for about three years." He said, smiling down at me. "Well," Heidi had said, a huge smile on her face, "It's clear you two are crazy about each other. You better not let this one go, Edward." She winked, before turning around and walking away.

"I don't plan to." Edward mumbled. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to hear that or not, so I just pretended like I hadn't.

_Did he really mean that? _My mind started reeling, thinking about everything that he could have possibly meant by saying that.

Maybe it was a code or something that Jacob didn't brief me on.

_Note to self, ask Jake about that later._

Brushing off the thoughts, I forced myself to think of the task at hand. Edward and I had yet to discuss what we planned to do in regards to Laurent. We needed to come up with a plan so that we could approach this thing cohesively. Nothing says suspicious like bumbling over your words and fighting with the person you are supposed to be partnered with in from of the target.

But first, I had to get Edward alone so that we could discuss this.

"Do you want to go somewhere… quieter?" I asked; I knew what it sounded like, and I probably shouldn't have worded my statement that way, but Edward knew what I meant. He smiled his panty-dropping smile at me, clearly picking up on the sexual connotation of my words. "Sure." he said.

We walked, arm and arm, through the crowds of people that surrounded us. I reached up, pressing my neck, and said, "Where do you think we should go?" I watched Edward shrug, and I wasn't sure if he knew that I was talking to Jacob.

"Hold on Bells," Jake said in my ear, "I'm pulling up the video of the place now. I'll find a place for you guys." I didn't say anything, but I knew that Jake knew that I had heard him. Nothing he ever made for me malfunctioned. _Knock on wood._

"Alright…" Jake said, I could hear the concentration in his voice as he tried to maneuver the video shots to his liking. "There is a janitors' closet about 150 feet ahead, to the left, once you round the turn. No one will notice if you two slip in there, and I'll even short out the camera for you for a few seconds."

I hummed in agreement, and Jacob said, "Alright, just say "I'm so happy you're here" when you round the bend. Once you're in the room, throw the lock, and just let me know so I can let the camera go back online."

I took a deep breath, trying to force as much oxygen into my brain as possible. If I were going to be in a small janitors closet with Edward, I would need to be thinking as clearly as possible.

As we rounded the bend, I took hold of his arm, and said, "I'm so happy you're here." Edward just smiled, wrapping his arm even tighter around my waist as he pulled me into his side.

Then I heard Jake in my ear, "Gotcha Bells. Now, pick the lock and get inside. You know what to do from there."

I let go of Edward's arm as we approached the door, quickly pulling out my spyPhone, and x-rayed the lock, checking to see where the pins were in the door. Smiling, I pulled a bobby pin out of my clutch and unlocked the door. I smiled to myself, as I walked into the closet, reached back, and pulled Edward into the closet.

I smiled widely, impressed that I was still able to pick a lock so quickly, and said "Hey Jake, we're good. Thanks, man!" Jake laughed, and I could hear the clicking of his fingers on the keyboard, probably resetting the camera. I looked up at Edward, checking to make sure that he knew that I was talking to my techie.

His eyes were on fire, and the darkest shade of emerald I'd ever seen. They bore into mine with an almost overwhelming intensity, and I felt myself begin to walk backwards. Slowly, he began stalking forward; it appeared as though his muscles were shaking with restraint.

I backed up until I was pressed up against the wall. Edward stood in front of me, leaning down, pressing his lips to my neck, opposite the side where my mike sat. "Jake…" I said, my voice sounded wary and shaky, and I didn't like it. I loved the cause, but I didn't need Jake knowing what was going on. "Good deal Bells," Jake said with a laugh, just as I reached up to turn the mike off. "I'm leaving you two alone now."

I sighed, throwing my hand down to my side, fighting the urge to reach up and rake my fingers through my hair. I felt Edward press his teeth into the skin in my neck, and I moaned quietly. _Fuck_. "I-I-I… I didn't m-m-mean to do that. Disregard that." I said, hoping that he wouldn't think that I wanted this to progress.

"Bella." Edward growled into my ear, his hot breath igniting a fire in my belly that had long been extinguished. "Let me do this. Let **us** do this." I opened my mouth to say something, when he drug his lips up my neck, and began kissing the corner of my mouth, occasionally flicking his tongue out the trace my lips.

"I want you Bella." He said; his voice was like the best sex, rough and deep, but with tons of emotion behind it. It felt like I was literally on fire, and I casually glanced down at my arms just to make sure that I wasn't. He bent his face back to my neck, scraping his whiskers across my face, probably leaving a rash.

"I… we… can't." I said, dropping my head.

_WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU SAYING?! Of course you can!_ One side of my brain argued. The other, my more logical side chimed in then; _no, you can't. Just because you are pretending to be in a relationship doesn't mean you actually are. And sleeping with him will really fuck up the working relationship. Get your wits about you, woman!_

Sighing, I pulled together the last bits of reserve strength I had left, and placed my hands on his neck, pulling his face up to mine. "Edward. We can't. We are working together. This isn't going to happen."

I thought that I sounded authoritative and serious, as though I actually meant business. Edward, however, must have heard me differently, because he started laughing. "I know that, Bella. I was just trying to make it look like we **had** done something. People weren't exactly oblivious to the fact that we were sneaking off earlier. If you didn't come back looking a little frazzled, they'd be suspicious."

"Oh…. Well good." I said, trying to sound genuinely pleased about his plan. Edward eyed me suspiciously but, thankfully, let it drop. "So," he said, stepping back and allowing his eyes to trail up and down my trembling form, "what's going on? What's our plan?"

I sighed, and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to ground myself in what was happened. I took two quick jumps in the air, and shook out my arms. "Okay." I said, a smile stretching across my face. Edward just stood there, looking at me. "What?" I asked.

"Uhm…" he gestured at me, running his hand up and down in the air in front of my body. I laughed. "I do that to loosen up sometimes." I said, blushing. Edward chuckled, "Do you always do that on missions?"

"Oh ha ha." I said, sarcastically. "I only do it when I'm alone." "Oh, I bet you do…" he said, eyeing me expectantly.

I scoffed, and slapped his chest.

"Look," I said, staring at him expectantly, "we need to talk about what we are going to do here. I just found out your name a few hours ago. M16 is very 'hush-hush' about who they assign to what missions, even to those that they are going to be working with. We need to come up with a plan."

Edward eyed me, considering what I'd said. "Alright," he said, picking up a bucket that was near the wall and flipping it over.

He plopped down, resting his elbows on his knees, and his head in his hands, looking at me expectantly. "Go ahead." He said, eyeing me. I rolled my eyes, before leaning against the wall behind me.

"Okay. We need to go and talk to this Laurent character. Has MI6 told you about him?" I asked, racking my brain to remember everything that we needed to talk about.

"Yes." Edward said, nodding his head, "they told me what I would imagine the same thing the CIA told you. At least, that's what Em told me they did." "Who's Em?" I asked, trying to squash the jealously that was brewing inside me.

_Who was this "Em" bitch, and how long until I got to fight her?_

"Em is short for Emmett… he's my mission coordinator. And my brother."

I sighed, mentally wiping my brow, as I remembered that Alice had mentioned that they were both working. Though, she never told me that Edward's brother was also in the business. I wonder if she knew. "Your Q?" I asked, a smile in my voice. Edward chuckled, "Yes, my Q."

"Alright, so we both have the same information on him… how do we want to approach this?" I began pacing back and forth across the room, in hopes of generating some sort of blood flow to my brain.

When I was younger, I had heard that moving around a lot before a test or a graded assignment can help stimulate blood flow, and can then help you do better. Sadly, I took that to mean that all I needed to do was run around before my tests in elementary school…. Needless to say, I learned that lesson rather quickly.

As I paced, I began to let my mind wander. Suddenly, I was no longer thinking about how Edward and I could approach Laurent, but how I could convince Edward to get a room with my in one of the hotels near by so I could screw his brains out.

I began thinking about all the things that I would want to do with Edward. What the sex would be like, how adventurous we would be, and when we would let that aspect of our sexual relationship develop.

I thought about the dates that we would go on, the memories that we would form, and the inside jokes that we would share. I imagined him getting down on one knee and proposing; the moment would be beautiful. The sun would be shining off of his luminescent skin, the wind ruffling his gorgeous bronze hair, and I would be laughing, and would probably blush profusely before–

"Why are you blushing?" Edward asked, looking at me mischievously.

" I, uh…" I stuttered, feeling my skin heat up even more now that I'd been caught, "just thinking about this assignment?" I hedged, the words sounding more like a question than an answer. "Sure…" he said; he put on his panty-dropping crooked smile. Normally I would be melting, but now I just wanted to slap it off of him.

Okay, so I was melting a little bit too.

"Look, we need to figure out what we are going to do. What's our back story?" I asked, finally getting the conversation going.

Edward and I sat in that room for probably about a half an hour talking about who we were going to play, and how we were going to approach the situation we'd been given.

We'd managed to keep it professional; exactly how, I'm not sure that I'll ever know. I had groped him in a dressing room earlier today, and now I had to work with him. Though, he said that he had no interest in going there with me; that he was just trying to play the part. I guess I could understand that… even if it did let me down a little bit.

Okay, it let me down a lot.

Once we had our plan set in stone, I moved to leave. "Are you ready?" I asked, "Because I need to tell Jake that we are getting ready to go so that he can shut off the cameras." Edward stood up, ignoring my question, and flipped over the bucket he had been sitting on.

When he turned around, he had the same look in his eyes that I had seen before. It was one of white-hot desire; his stare began to melt me at my very core, and I could feel myself getting wet. _God damn it. I didn't want to ruin these panties!_

Again, much like before, Edward began stalking towards me, slowly backing me up against the wall. When I felt my back press up against the cold cement, I looked down, trying to avoid his gaze. I knew that if I looked into his eyes, I would succumb to whatever it was that he wanted.

_Sure, Edward. You want my dignity? Would you like that gift wrapped, or just placed in a bag?_

Edward continued to move until he was pressed up against me, just lightly enough that I could feel every inch of him, but not hard enough to give me any actual satisfaction from the content. This man was a tease. And I loved it.

He reached his hand up, cupping my face in his large palm, and brought my eyes to his. "Bella…" he said, his voice coming out in a sensual whisper that set my insides on fire.

I felt myself blush as Edward reached up and knotted his fingers through my hair. He pulled me to him until our lips were only a few millimeters apart. "Frustrated yet?" he asked. It took me a moment to realize what he was saying because his lips were brushing against mine as he spoke. The light pressure of his lips on mine was enough to make my knees wobble.

Suddenly, my brain clicked, and I moved my head away from his as quickly as I could. I couldn't believe that he would do this to me; especially after he saw the effect that he had on me when we first got here. He said that he wasn't interested. And now… he was acting like he was going to kiss me?! Unbelievable. Bastard.

I reached up and slapped him across the head before storming over to the other side of the room. "Jake," I said, pressing on my mike, "we're ready to go." I stood outside the door, waiting for Jake to give me the okay, when I felt Edward come up behind me.

"Bella…" Edward said. I could feel him very closely behind me, and when I turned my head slightly, I could see that he was hanging his head. "Edward," I said, interrupting him, "whatever you are about to say better be something that I would want Jake to hear. My mike is still on." Edward just sighed, and went back to waiting.

When Jacob gave us the go ahead, I walked out of the door first, making a scene of looking both ways before giggling and pulling Edward out of the closet.

I mentally willed him to cheer up before we rounded that corner. We needed to look like a couple that had just snuck off to have fantastic sex in the middle of a public New Years Eve party. Right now, Edward looked like I had killed his puppy.

As we rounded the corner though, Edward's smile was back. I clicked my mike off, smiling at him. "I love that it's just us now." I said, smiling.

Edward nodded in understanding, the smile plastered on his face. To anyone else, it looked legitimate, but it wasn't the shit-eating grin that I had come to expect from him. His eyes weren't alive and dancing like they had been when we were flirting earlier.

I guess we were working now.

We walked around the party area for about another hour, talking to random people about anything that we could think of to talk to them about. I also took the time to learn a little bit more about Edward.

Though Edward and I didn't have much time to talk and really figure each other out, which upset me, I was able to learn a lot about him through other people. I watched the way that he carried himself in a conversation with a stranger; how his shoulders were always squared with the person he was talking to, and how he never dropped his head in a submissive gesture. He demanded respect in a conversation, albeit subconsciously, but he was also immensely respectful of those he got into conversation with.

He never fidgeted while talking, opting instead to stand up straight, with his arm relaxing around my waist. Occasionally, he would squeeze my hip, or would look down at me and smile, sometimes he would even brush a kiss against my hair, but he was not overly affectionate. Perhaps it was because we weren't actually dating… though I have had men in the past that have gone to great lengths to convince people that we were together. Aleksandr was the worst of course… though he **was** Russian.

Eventually, Edward and I made our way over to where Laurent was standing. We had been watching him very carefully all night, so we knew enough about his mannerisms, and current state of inebriation, to feel comfortable approaching him.

As Edward and I had discussed, I quietly leaned up to kiss his neck and slipped from his side, presumably to go to the bathroom. I knew that Edward was going to be setting up a private meeting with Laurent now, so that we could get him alone and talk about the possibility of meeting with the dealers, Victoria and Riley. I rushed into the bathroom quietly going into a stall and immediately began rifling through my devices. I pulled out my spyPhone, and sent Jake a private message telling him that I was going to plant a tracking device and a microphone on Laurent, as well as turn on my mike to record the conversation with Laurent.

I heard him in my ear almost immediately after I sent him the message; "I got your back, Bells." I smiled, and mumbled a quiet, "Thanks." so as not to rouse suspicions.

I then pulled out a small tracking device and a tiny "freckle microphone" out of my hollowed out mascara tube, and placed it on the tip of my index finger on my left hand. Smiling, I slid the sensors under my thumbnail, ready to place strategically on him. Somewhere.

After taking a minute to actually check myself out in the mirror, I fluffed my hair, running my fingers through the light tangles that Edward had somehow managed to create. Grinning at my reflection, I nodded my head, trying to work up the courage to face Edward. "Here we go." I said, giving myself a miniature pep talk, and letting Jake know that I was getting on the road with this thing already.

I walked out, making a show of looking for Edward, before 'spotting' him in the corner with Laurent. I smiled, loving how this was already going so well.

I sauntered over to Edward's side, immediately slipping my arm around his waist, and leaning up to kiss his neck. Edward slid his arm around my shoulders, before leaning down to kiss my forehead. "Sweetheart, this," he said, gesturing towards Laurent with his head, "is Laurent. This is the man that we want to talk to about the business transaction we are looking to take part in."

I smiled, leaning slightly out of Edward's grasp to greet Laurent. I went in for the hug, pretending that it was my standard method of greeting, as a carefully placed the locator device and the mic on the back of his neck. I slowly pulled back, reaching out to shake his hand. "So nice to meet you." I said, flashing him a genuine smile.

Sliding back to my spot under Edward's arm, I looked up at Edward. "Have you inquired about Jenks yet, Edward, dear?" Edward smiled down at my sad attempt at checking to make sure that he had completed his assigned part of this interaction.

"Of course, I have, love." Edward began rubbing small circles on the back of my shoulder with his thumb, and I had to force my legs to keep still. As the pad of his thumb continued making circles on my shoulder blade, I felt my head fill with blood, my brain becoming clouded with hormones, begging for me to just jump him already.

Bringing myself out of the moment, I took a second to ground myself in reality.

_This is a mission. I can't keep going off on stupid mental tangents about how much I want to jump him. No way. Time to act. _

I smiled up at Edward, leaning back to rest my head on his shoulder for a second, before winking at him. He looked absolutely stunned. _Haha, perfect. Payback is a bitch, Edward._

I looked back at Laurent, "Would you be interested in going somewhere a tad more private with us?" I asked, batting my eyelashes at him a few times for good measure. "Of course." He said, gesturing his hand in front of him, indicating that Edward and I should lead the way. Smiling, I slid my hand from around Edward, shrugging out of his arm at the same time. Looking up at him, I winked, and grabbed his hand in mine, our fingers intertwining perfectly.

Edward and I began walking, side by side, our hands swinging slightly between us. I caught him looking down at me a few times, I noticed that the glint in his eyes had returned, making them appear playful, while still containing the remnants of the burning they had held not too long ago. I looked up at him, trying to convey that we would speak later, without actually having to say the words. When he nodded minutely, I hoped that he understood what I had been trying to say.

We continued on in silence, walking slowly away from the party area, when I heard Jacob in my ear. "Alright, Bells. Keep going straight; there is a conference room on your right in about fifty feet. It says "Employees Only", but just go in. It's unlocked." I squeezed Edward's hand, letting him know that Jake had gotten in touch with me; he squeezed back, and I looked up at him, smiling.

I loved that we were so good at the silent communication thing.

Normally, when I was on a mission with someone else, we needed to meet up at least a week before we started doing any fieldwork for the mission. We needed to learn about each other's mannerisms, and talk about the things that would be able to convey to the other through signals, gestures, and actions.

With Edward, these things came naturally. We didn't need to meet and talk about the things that we would be doing to signal certain things to the other person. We just… did it. Maybe he didn't understand everything that I was trying to tell him, but from my side, it certainly seemed like he did.

We reached the door to the conference room, and I stopped, reaching out with my free hand to turn the handle. It was, as Jacob had said, unlocked, so we quietly walked in.

The room was made of one solid wall, the one containing the door, while the others were three tank walls, allowing us to sit and watch the fish swim around in the aquarium while we discussed.

I took a quick inventory of the room, trying to determine what could be used as a weapon in case things went horribly wrong. I didn't think that they would, but it was always good to know.

_Chairs and a few pens on the tabletop. Awesome. They couldn't have put something more useful in here… like a desktop monitor?_

Internally sighing, I gestured to the table; "Let's get started, shall we?" I asked. Laurent nodded, walking over to the side of the table opposite from where Edward and I were currently standing.

Noting that lines had clearly been drawn, Edward and I walked over to the table. As we approached the chairs, Edward walked ahead of me, pulling out a chair and gesturing towards it with his hand. "Love." He said, smiling at me.

I smiled, the simple gesture burning me from the inside out. "Thank you, Edward." I said, as I smoothed my dress along my backside before sitting down. When Edward was sure that I was secure in my seat, he pushed my chair in, before taking a seat on the chair to my left, and bringing his gorgeous forearms to rest on the table.

"Alright, may I begin?" Edward asked, looking from Laurent to me. I grinned and nodded, gesturing out towards the table. Edward nodded at me before beginning. "We understand that you have File 33. Is the correct?"

Laurent looked down at his hands, and began fidgeting. He was probably thinking of something to say that would lead us to believe that he had direct control over who attained the file.

"I have access to it, yes." Laurent said, grinning up at Edward. "Why do you ask?" Laurent eyed us then, trying to make sure that we were being completely honest with him.

One of the most crucial parts about being a spy is making sure that you come off as though you are being completely honest. You don't want your story to be too complex, and you want it to be relatively easy to follow.

If you start coming up with something really elaborate, people are automatically going to assume that you are lying to them, even on the off chance that you are being completely honest.

My advice? Lie about as few things as you can manage. Though, usually, because I'm a fucking spy, I have to lie about everything. The key is just to keep your story straight. Oh, and to always stick to the plan that you've come up with, as long as nothing unexpected crops up.

So when I chimed in with, "We were interested in purchasing it," and completely disregarded the plan Edward and I had made back in the janitor's closet, I thought he was going to hit me.

"What Bella means," Edward said, reaching over to take my hand atop the table, "is that we are very interested in obtaining it. Now, we've done some research, and we know that you work with a certain Riley Cohan…" Edward trailed off suggestively, allowing Laurent to take the lead.

"What do you know about Riley?" Laurent asked, his voice becoming slightly panicked.

"Enough." I said, looking at him. "We always check our sources before we become involved in any backroom deals. Though, we usually get other people to perform these interviews for us."

"So why is this one any different?" Laurent asked, his voice leveling out and returning to its normal tone. _Perfect, he was relaxing back into the situation._

"I believe we mentioned that we were **very** interested in acquiring the file." I hinted, looking to Edward with a smile.

"Alright," Laurent said, looking back and forth between us, "I understand that you are very interested in File 33. But you have to know that I don't actually have any control over who gets the file."

"If not you," I asked, feigning ignorance, "then who? We need to acquire this file as soon as possible. We have deadlines to meet, after all."

The idea of a deadline seemed to spark some sort of interest in him. "A deadline, you say? What kind of deadline are we talking about here?" He cocked his eyebrow, as he awaited our answer.

"Let's just say we have a project to finish." Edward said ambiguously. Laurent just silently nodding, as though slowly accepting the gravity of what we were insinuating.

"Okay," Laurent said suddenly, "I'll have to get in contact with Riley, and see what I can work out. I'm not sure that he is going to be so willing to sell it to some people that he has never heard of before…" he trailed off.

I smiled inwardly, knowing that Edward and I had fully anticipated this. We knew that he would try and get some more intimate details out of us, and try and figure out more about who we were before he wanted to connect us with Riley.

"We keep ourselves relatively hidden from the public eye. We don't typically even divulge names… tell Riley that he is lucky that he is even getting that information out of us." Edward said, the hardened edge to his voice making him all the more believable.

Laurent sighed, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. After hitting a few buttons on his cell phone, he brought it up to his ear. "Riley, it's Laurent." He said after a few minutes. "I have some people here that are very interested in acquiring File 33." He waited a minute or so while James responded, looking down at his fingers while he listened.

"I understand the policy, but they are the underground type. I have names, that's it. If you like, you can do more research on them –"

Edward and I sat uncomfortably in the room, quietly listening to Laurent get totally owned. "Look, Riley," Laurent said, raising his voice now. "Don't fucking talk to me that way. I'm doing all the work for you and Victoria. Now tell me what you want me to tell these people so I can get on my way." Laurent sat quietly, while he listened to whatever Riley was telling him on the other end.

As we waited, I felt Edward's hand drop out of mine atop the table and fall to my lap. He rested his hand on my thigh, and I felt myself sit up a little bit straighter. I wasn't prepared for this.

Edward tapped his finger on my thigh, first holding it, then a quick tap, which he then repeated, before leaving his finger on my thigh for a few seconds. I quickly recognized it as the starting signal for Morse code. Tapping my fingertips against the table (three quick taps, one long tap, and another quick tap) to signal that I understood, Edward began to tap out Morse code on my thigh.

_I'm so sorry about earlier. Let me make it up to you._

I reached under the table, so the tapping on the tabletop wouldn't distract Laurent from his now very animated conversation with Riley.

Placing my hand on Edward's thigh, I quickly tapped out a response.

_I don't know Edward. We work together; can't we just forget everything about our past?_

Edward was quick to respond. As he typed out words on my thigh (which I kept careful track of in my mind), I looked over at Laurent. He seemed completely oblivious to everything that was going on, as he was still talking to Riley. "But what about James… I mean, he is still very interested. And you know how I feel about crossing an old friend, Riley." Just then, Edward finished his message.

_Bella, please. I need to make it up to you. It's killing me._

I sighed, and quickly typed out _Maybe. _before turning back to the situation in front of us.

Laurent and Riley talked for a few more moments, before he looked over at Edward and I. "He would like to speak with one of you." Laurent said, looking between the two of us. Getting out of his chair, Edward walked around the end of the table and took the phone from Laurent's hand. "Riley? I understand that you are the man that I need to speak with in order to make this deal." Edward said, his deep, British voice still managing to wet my panties.

_Fuck you, Edward. Fuck you, and your luscious voice._

"Yes, Riley, I understand that you have garnered many requests for acquisition, but I think that my… partner," Edward turned around and winked at me then, "can make the best offer here."

Edward was silent a moment, before responding. "Ah, so Laurent here is a good friend of another man looking to buy this file? Who dare I ask is he?"

I sat in silence as Edward finished up his conversation with Riley; "Alright, well look Riley, I'll give you the number to my personal line. I never give this out, so I would appreciate it if you would not share it with anyone. This is absolutely classified. 44-020-555-3683. Got that? That's a London phone number, so you might not want to spend a lot of time calling that for the sake of your phone bill." Edward chuckled and whatever Riley had said, before handing the phone back to Laurent.

Edward walked back to his seat, and sat down, immediately taking my hand into his. I looked up at him, his sad, reverent eyes almost breaking me down.

And then I noticed that he had tapped the starting signal on the back of my hand. Smiling inwardly, I squeezed his hand, allowing him to go ahead. His message this time was simple.

_Thank you. _

I squeezed his hand again, before Edward pulled his hand away slightly, so we could intertwine our fingers. His hand gripped mine lightly, before loosening it's grip, so that we were merely resting our hands together, our fingers laced like the lovers I so desperately wanted us to be.

When Laurent finished up the call, he walked back over to the table, sitting down, and placing the phone about a foot in front of him. "Well, it seems that Riley was very impressed with you, Edward. Though, there is another offer on the table that you should know about. So I wouldn't get your hopes up."

_Ahhh. Defending his old friend. Good boy. Walking right into our trap._

"And who is this competitor, if you don't mind my asking?" Edward said, bringing his unoccupied hand up to the table, laying it palm up on the table.

When we are training to become spies, one of the first things that you learn is the importance of body language. They teach you how to hold your body, how to angle yourself, and how to handle your gestures so that you can portray yourself properly.

If you are trying to portray a convict or something of the like, you would carry yourself with a guarded stance, keep your arms crossed a lot, and generally look as though you are trying to keep people out.

If, however, you are trying to convince an employee for two illegal Italian dealers to give you some information about the other guy that wants to buy the goods, you need to come off as though you are totally trustworthy. So when Edward laid his hand palm up on the table, he is subconsciously telling Laurent that it is all right to trust him. The subtle body-language invite usually works, and this time was no different.

"His name is James Conklin. He is an old buddy of mine. I told him about the file a few days ago, when Riley first mentioned it to me. You are most certainly going to have to post up a lot of money to even have a hope of buying James out."

_Shit._

"We have ample financial resources. Don't we, love?" Edward asked, squeezing my hand under the table, and smiling at me. "Of course." I answered, my voice surprisingly stable.

"Well, I'm glad that you appreciate the competition." Laurent said, chuckling as he leaned back in his seat, throwing his hands behind his head.

Edward and I laughed, his deep, rumbling laugh resonating in my head. "Well, it's been fantastic talking to you, Laurent, but I'm afraid that Isabella and I must be on our way." Edward said, releasing my hand before standing up and helping me out of my chair.

We walked over to where Laurent was standing, and each shook his hand. "What, no hug this time?" he said to me, with a laugh. I chuckled, and walked back over to him, wrapping my arms loosely around his neck.

Stepping back, I walked back to Edward, who immediately wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into his side. We gestured ahead of us, allowing Laurent to go first, before following him out of the room.

Laurent quickly disappeared into the crowd once we left the room. Quickly, I said, "Got it, Jake. Thanks." And clicked the microphone off. I heard Jake in my ear a moment later, "No problem Bells. I'll put this on file under Laurent one."

Edward began walking us towards the exit, his head held away from me, as though he was trying to avoid any and all eye contact.

It felt so strange, walking in silence like this. Edward seemed like someone who always said what was on his mind, no matter what is was, no matter how controversial it might be. But now, when he had so many things to say, he wasn't saying a damn thing.

The pressure was palpable, and the stress was weighing down on me like a ton of bricks. I wanted nothing more than to just grab him by the lapels and shake him and start yelling, "FUCKING TALK TO ME! I KNOW YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, SO FUCKING SAY IT!"

I didn't of course.

We had reached the exit, and walked over to the valet, before he finally spoke to me. "Give them your name?" he asked, his voice was quiet, sounding more like the defeated man I had left the janitors closet with earlier than the confident spy making deals in the conference room.

I smiled at the valet, slipped him a twenty and told him my name. He pocketed the money without checking the denomination, and immediately began walking back towards the car lot.

Then Edward and I were alone.

Immediately, the air buzzed to life; it felt as though there was an electric current pulsing through the air, pushing it's way through every cell in my body. My fingers itched with the urge to reach over and pull him to me, and my whole body trembled in restraint.

I have never been more thankful that our skin wasn't touching, that we weren't touching. I know that the contact would have just been too much, and I would have had to jump him, right here up against the valet stand.

And that isn't exactly one of the classiest things you can do.

Besides, the last thing that I waned to do would be to ruin our mission. And sleeping with Edward… would definitely ruin the mission.

Maybe we would just give up on it, and have sex forever.

Or, and this was the more likely option, I would get a partner change, and Edward and I would no longer be in contact.

He, like so many of the other spies that I've worked with, will essentially have to fall off the map after our missions are over.

I mean, technically, I have to disappear from the public eye for a little while too. After I've been on a mission, I am typically not allowed back on another one for at least a month.

They want to make sure that those that you helped put away, that the people that you've come in contact with don't remember you, don't remember your face; sometimes that's easy, and sometimes it's extremely difficult.

Having sex with Edward… would make that separation most difficult.

It's always a little difficult to be separated from your mission partner after a mission is over; you become so attached to them, and so used to them always being there, that it is almost like getting slapped by reality when the mission is finally over. It involves a lot of readjustment, which would only be made more difficult if I had meaningful sex with him.

Pointless filler sex is one thing. Meaningful (okay, it would only be meaningful to me) sex with Edward… would be fucking fantastic; but it would also kill me later.

I ground my heels into the ground, as though bracing myself for an impact, and slowly began trying to slow down the trembling throughout my body.

And then I made the mistake of looking up.

I looked up in Edward's emerald green eyes, his irises looking as though they had literally been set aflame. The look on his face was one of sheer dominance, and I could almost see the desire seeping from his pores.

Slowly, he began walking towards me and, as though by instinct, I immediately began walking backwards. I stepped back until I felt the hard wood of the valet station pressing into my lower back. Edward smiled, and stepped forward until his chest was brushing up against mine.

His breathing was ragged, and his shoulders were trembling. His dark, fiery eyes continued to gaze down into mine as he began to angle his body over my own. I leaned back over the valet station, trying to resist the urge that was growing inside me. Slowly, he leaned forward, stooping his head down so that his lips were aligned with my collarbone.

I leaned my head up so I could look at him; our eyes locked for a few seconds, the heat of the moment overwhelming us both. Suddenly, he winked at me, and lightly brushed his lips up the column of my throat.

I moaned out loud, the rumbling in my throat probably vibrating against his lips. Just then, someone clearing his or her throat interrupted us.

Edward shot up, and literally leapt away from me, as though I had just told him I had a penis or something. I slowly uncurled my body from the valet station, reaching into my clutch to pull out another twenty.

"For having to see that." I said, winking at the valet. He chuckled, "No worries, miss. It was the most fun I'll have all night." I laughed, walking around the back of the car to my door.

When I got there, Edward was already there, holding the door open for me.

"Isabella." He said, slightly sweeping his hand in front of the car door. I chuckled lightly, and rolled my eyes, sliding into the car, and immediately buckling my seat belt.

Edward walked around the front of the car and settled into the passenger side seat, much to my surprise.

"What are you doing?" I asked, looking at him in shock. "Well, we can't leave separately. Besides, I was dropped off. MI6 wanted us to leave together. Something about believability…" Edward dropped his head, obviously ashamed of the fact that he had waited so long to tell me that I was going to be stuck in a car with him for god knows how long.

Lord knows, the sexual frustration all night wasn't enough, was it? Nope, now I had to deal with him for an unknown amount of time.

"I know, I should have told you." He said suddenly. "But if we can get going, I swear I will tell you everything." I sighed, but put the car into gear and pulled out.

"Where to?" I asked, after a few moments of silence. "Can we just go to your place? It's late, and I don't want you out anywhere by yourself once you're done with me."

I sighed, and rolled my eyes, but continued the motions that would take us home.

The car stayed silent the whole way.

After about two minutes, I got so fed up with the silence that I leaned over to turn the radio on. I guess Edward must have had the same idea, as our fingers collided on the radio knob.

The electric current that had permeated the air before was now very tangible, and shot up through my arm. The jolt made me rip my hand away from the radio, and practically throw it back onto the steering wheel.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward click the knob to turn the radio on, before mumbling a quiet, "I'm so sorry, Bella." and dropping his head into his hands.

I sighed quietly, trying to get out all the thoughts that were threatening to overwhelm my brain.

_Why was he behaving like this? I thought he said that he didn't want to be with me. Why was he ALWAYS apologizing… ugh!_

Forcing my brain to silence, I listened to the muted tunes flowing through my car speakers. After realizing that I recognized the song, I began mumbling along with the lyrics:

**Jesus Christ, that's a pretty face**

**The kind you'd find on someone that could save**

**If they don't put me away**

**It'll be a miracle**

**Do you believe you're missing out?**

**That everything good is happening somewhere else**

**With nobody in your bed**

**The night is hard to get through**

**And I will die all alone**

**And when I arrive I won't know anyone**

**Jesus Christ, I'm alone again**

**So what did you do those three days you were dead?**

**Because this problem is going to last**

**More than the weekend**

**Jesus Christ, I'm not scared to die**

**But I'm a little bit scared of what comes after**

**Do I get the gold chariot**

**Or do I float through the ceiling**

**Or do I divide and pull apart**

**Because my bright is too slight to hold back all my dark**

**This ship went down in sight of land**

**And at the gates does Thomas ask to see my hands?**

**I know you're coming in the night like a thief**

**But I've had some time, O Lord, to hone my lying technique**

**I know you think that I'm someone you can trust**

**But I'm scared I'll get scared and I swear I'll try to nail you back up**

**So do you think that we could work out a sign**

**So I'll know it's you and that it's over so I won't even try**

**I know you're coming for the people like me**

**But we all got wood and nails**

**And we turn out hate in factories**

**We all got wood and nails**

**And we turn out hate in factories**

**We all got wood and nails**

**And we sleep inside of this machine**

I frowned to myself as the song ended, a more than little annoyed that the universe had managed to find a way to throw my emotions in my face like that. I was full of thoughts and feelings, and I was absolutely confused as hell. I had no idea what to expect from this, and that scared me beyond all belief. I wasn't scared in the way that most people are scared when they realize that a potential relationship is blooming.

I wasn't thinking about losing my freedoms, or how horrible my life would become if I were committed. I wasn't thinking about how difficult it would be to move all our stuff in together, and what it would be like waking up next to the same person every single day.

Nope. I was thinking about what I was going to do when this all blew up in my face. What I was going to say when we got up into that apartment and Edward told me to back the hell off; when he told me that we were merely working partners, and that was the extent of our relationship.

I wasn't ready for this… this pull that Edward seemed to have over me. We had just met this morning. Granted, I had already seriously violated him, but that didn't mean that I had any right to a relationship with him. And, if I were being entirely honest with myself, I think that that is what scares me the most: the fact that I just met Edward, and I am already prepared to give up everything for him.

As I pulled into the basement-parking garage, I thought of ways to address the situation with Edward. I couldn't just fall into his arms and tell him that I thought that I was rapidly falling in love with him. I also couldn't tell him that I wanted to fuck his sexy, British brains out.

No, neither of those options were feasible. Or normal.

So I decided to let him handle it.

I parked my car, and leaned back to gather my things from the trunk of the car. When I spun back around, Edward was at my door, holding it open for me.

I smiled awkwardly and said, "Thank you, Edward." He grinned at me, but it wasn't the crooked, panty-dropping smile that I was really starting to miss.

We walked quietly to the elevator, and stood in silence all the way up to my penthouse. He stood behind me silently as I unlocked the door, and walked in behind me with his head hung low, eyes focused on his feet shuffling into my apartment.

The silence was really beginning to kill me.

"Can I get you anything?" I asked, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a glass. I filled it with ice and filtered water, before turning around and looking at him. "A water…? Something?" I asked again. "An ice water would be brilliant, thanks." He said, his eyes flickering with just the littlest bit of light.

I gave Edward my glass of ice water before returning to the cabinet to grab another glass.

When I finished making my glass, I saw that Edward had wandered around the counter and had taken a seat at the breakfast bar.

He looked like he belonged there. And it scared me.

He saw me gazing at him, and smiled, patting the space on the counter next to him. I grinned, sliding my glass to the spot he had indicated, before turning my mic on quickly. "Jake, shut off my locater please." Jake responded almost immediately, "Of course, Bells."

I waited for the jolt in my neck, before thanking Jake, and shutting my mic off, and placing it back in the hollowed out mascara tube in my bag. Next, I popped out my earpieces, setting them carefully on the counter. Placing everything carefully in my bag so as not to lose it, I finally walked around the counter to sit next to Edward.

"I'm really sorry that I've been all over the place tonight, Bella." Edward said, dropping his head into his hands. "It's okay." I said, grabbing my glass and taking a sip of it.

"No, Bella. It's not. It's really not. I have no right to be treating you this way." His voice sounded like one of a man in agony.

"No, Edward. It's fine. We're partners. I should get this through my head. But you need to know… you are going to have to lay off the 'being really close' to me thing for a while. I am really attracted to you, and I need some time to get over that." I sighed, the weight of the truth finally lifted from my shoulders. I wasn't looking at Edward, because I couldn't bear to see his face as I said the words, but as the silence stretched on between us, I chanced a look in his direction.

Edward was looking at me, in total and complete disbelief. "What?" I asked, my voice shaking slightly. "You think… you think that I don't want you?!" he asked, his voice incredulous.

"Well, yeah." I stammered, "Isn't that what you said back in the closet? When you got really close to me…?"

"Oh Bella." He said, shaking his head. "I just said that because I thought that you didn't want us to happen. I want us. I want us so badly."

The look in his eyes was so intense it could have stopped a thousand hearts. His eyes burned with repressed sexual need, the tendons in his arms bulged slightly as he lightly gripped the countertop.

I felt myself almost give in to him. I wanted to. No, fuck that; I needed to. I needed to know what it felt like to have his body over mine, to hold him inside me. I needed to know what kind of lover he was, and how it felt to be completely full in a way that I'm positive I will have never been before. I needed to know what it felt like to wake up next to him in the morning, to share playful banter over breakfast, and to have to stumble back to bed when the sexual tension becomes to great.

But, sadly, I had my wits about me.

"But… we're working together. There is no way that we can balance that." I said, my voice stronger than I intended it to be. Edward sighed, raking his hand through his hair.

"Make a deal with me Bella." He said, the question sounding more like a statement. "Anything." I answered, the reverent tone to my voice bothering me.

_Fuck, I didn't need him KNOWING that I would literally do anything just to make him happy. _

"Let's be friend's first, then see what develops. If we end up working out better as friends, than I won't push you for anything more. But…" Edward said, his voice trailing off as his eyes raked up and down my body, "if it's just too difficult, let's give us a try. Deal?"

His liquid emerald eyes burned into mine, forcing my blood to begin pumping feverishly through my veins. "Deal." I answered, the word coming out as a quiet whisper, that I wasn't even sure he heard.

Edward smiled my panty-dropping smile almost immediately, the sight both warming my heart, and dampening my panties.

"Oh, and one more thing…" Edward said, as he stood up, moving to stand over me. He leaned over so that his lips were mere millimeters from mine. "We should probably have sex right now. Just so we have something to compare our friendship to." His lips brushed against mine with every word, and I swear I felt my eyes roll back into my head. But I felt the smile form on my lips, and I opened my eyes to look at him. "Deal." I whispered.

* * *

**Question of the Chapter:**

**What do you want to see in the story? Any plot lines you would like me to try an incorporate? Anything you want to see happen? Let me know in your review, and I'll try and make it happen.**

**(It can be as clean or as dirty as you want. Hehehe ;) )**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys. Sorry that I took forever... again. But this chapter was born after I finished my finals last week. I finished my tests and immediately launched into this. It is my longest chapter yet, so I hope you enjoy it. :) **

**As always, I LOVE reviews.**

**What I Own: A room filled with crap that I moved from my dorm room. ACK.**

**What I Don't: Twilight. :(**

* * *

"Oh, and one more thing…" Edward said, as he stood up, moving to stand over me. He leaned over so that his lips were mere millimeters from mine. "We should probably have sex right now. Just so we have something to compare our friendship to." His lips brushed against mine with every word, and I swear I felt my eyes roll back into my head. But I felt the smile form on my lips, and I opened my eyes to look at him. "Deal." I whispered.

Edward pulled back a little, looking deeply in my eyes for a moment. He looked as though he was searching for something, though for what I'm not sure. All I know is that whatever he'd seen must have pleased him.

Edward slammed our hips together, allowing me to feel his erection on my hip. I moaned aloud as he pressed his mouth to mine, effectively silencing the sound.

My hands immediately went to his hair, my fingers trailing up his neck on their way to tangle themselves in his bronze locks. I pulled his head closer to mine, and I felt him smile against my lips as he let out the quietest of groans.

I, Isabella Marie Swan, had made Edward… _note to self, find out his middle name_

"What's your middle name?" I gasped, my words coming in pants between kisses.

_Well, shit. I guess I have no verbal filter when I'm making out with this man. How annoying. _

He smiled against my lips before pulling back and placing his forehead against mine. "Anthony." He said his voice sounding equally winded. "What's yours?" "Marie." I answered, feeling a blush warm my cheeks.

He cupped my face in his hands and stared into my eyes, his forehead still pressing against mine. "Isabella Marie Swan." He whispered, his voice sounding almost reverent in the quiet of my apartment.

"Edward Anthony Cullen." I whispered back, a smile tugging at the corner of my lips.

Edward grinned crookedly at me, before pulling my mouth back to his, effectively ending the conversation between us.

As we continued to kiss, I felt his warm tongue begin to trace the outside of my lips. Smiling, I opened my mouth, allowing him to explore.

His kiss wasn't like anything else I had ever experienced. I loved kissing Edward. Absolutely loved it.

There was just something about the way that he carried himself in a kiss… if that makes any sense. He was aggressive when it was appropriate, but he also would occasionally pull back, and pepper sweet kisses around my lips, sometimes on my neck.

And even though he currently had his tongue on my mouth, he wasn't stabbing his tongue in and out, like a few of the other people I had been with had done. (Why that's hot, I have no idea.)

Instead, his tongue coaxed mine to be more playful, as he rolled our tongues together, tracing small, intricate patterns along the surface of my tongue.

Eventually, the kissing became too much, and I pulled away, both of us gasping for air. I stared into his eyes; the emerald fire working it's way into my heart and slowly consuming my soul. Grinning, I grabbed the lapels on his jacket, and pulled him to me.

Our hips collided again, and he bent down to resume to kiss. Quickly, I turned my head, giving him my cheek. The smile on my face was almost uncontrollable when I heard him groan.

"Don't deny me, Isabella Marie." He said, his voice low and rough, sounding more like sex than any voice should.

"Or what?" I asked, the playful tone to my voice indicating my plan. He growled, and immediately brought his mouth to my neck as I began walking us backwards.

Holding Edward by his lapels, and keeping our hips in constant contact, I walked Edward and I very slowly through my apartment. His mouth was hot on my neck, and it was so distracting, that I almost forgot where I was.

I felt his teeth press into the sensitive skin on my neck, and I moaned aloud. Acting quickly, he used my momentary distraction to bring his mouth back to mine.

Not that I would have stopped him otherwise.

We continued to kiss and stumble through my apartment; as we walked, I became increasingly frustrated about the amount of clothing that he had on. Pushing my hands under his tux jacket, I pulled it off his arms, throwing it on the floor behind him.

I felt Edward grin against my mouth, but he didn't stop me; shoving my hands in his pants, I quickly untucked his tuxedo shirt, and began my work on the buttons.

I can undo shirt buttons with a speed that is almost embarrassing. Easing the shirt off his shoulders, I ran my hands up his now bare back, clutching at the hard skin.

_Oh my god. He has a better body that I thought he did._

I ran my fingers along the curves of the muscles, eventually running them around his shoulders and down his chest. I smiled against his mouth as the traced the shape of his pecs, and nearly laughed out loud when Edward groaned when I flicked his nipples.

When my fingers were playing around on his ab muscles, Edward decided that enough was enough. Grabbing my arms, he picked me up and slammed me back into the nearest wall.

The moan that I emitted probably didn't even sound human.

Edward sunk his teeth into the skin of my neck, and I was no longer able to focus on anything. All I could do, all I could think about, was his teeth on my neck, his body pressed up against mine.

Slowly, Edward lowered me back down the wall. "Turn around. Hands on the wall. Feet shoulder length apart." He said, his voice like gravel.

_Ugh, this is FUCKING WONDERFUL._

I followed his instructions, and I felt his large hands working the hook-and-eye at the top of my dress. Once he released the hook, Edward pulled lightly on the zipper.

He must have only moved it down a centimeter, before he stopped pulling. I turned my head around so I could look at him over my shoulder. His eyes caught mine, and he winked, leaning down, and placing his mouth at the zipper.

Realizing what he was going to do, my eyes practically became frozen. Maintaining eye contact, he slowly drew out his teeth, grabbing onto the tiny zipper and pulling it down.

I gasped against him as I felt him hot breath trail down my spine. He was breathing erratically, and the irregular pattern on my back was almost enough to send me over the edge.

When he reached the bottom, he placed a kiss on my skin just about the zipper ending. Suddenly, I felt his tongue on my skin as he licked his way back up my spine, the tip of his tongue tracing the ridges in my bones.

Carefully sliding my dress off my body, I watched it pool into a black pile around my feet, when I heard him gasp.

"What?" I asked, my voice scratchy and raw. He was staring intently at my skin, but at the sound of my voice, he tore his eyes from my body and brought them to my face.

He looked a little glazed over.

"You have…" he said, pointing to my skin. I laughed, "A tattoo?" I asked, smiling at him. He merely nodded, his eyes returning to the ink adorning my left hip.

" '**I pray you, do not fall in love with me, For I am falser than vows made in wine.**' " he read, reaching out to trace his finger tips along the tattoo. "Why did you get this?" he asked.

I sighed, turning around in his arms to look at him. "I love the play." I answered, smiling up at him. He gave me a dubious look. _Damn, he can see right through me._

Edward reached his large hands around my front, slowly peeling off the stick on bra Alice had purchased, throwing them unceremoniously to the floor.

"Later." He said, getting down on his knees and placing his full lips over my tattoo.

Thanking the lord that he didn't push the issue, I was able to immediately fall back into the moment when I really saw Edward on his knees. Looking down at him over my shoulder was doing wonderful things to my female parts.

Noticing my interest, Edward reached up, grasping my hips in his large hands. Slowly, he spun me, until he was facing my front.

Edward grasped my hips, his eyes boring into mine. They held dozens of unanswered questions, dozens of thoughts, hopes, and dreams. And suddenly I found myself wanting to understand each and every one of them.

His fingers dug lightly into my skin, and he leaned forward, pressing his face into the soft skin of my stomach. His hot breath warmed my skin, tickling me; but I couldn't care less about the ticklish sensation. All I cared about was the fact that Edward had his face pressed into my stomach, and the fact that he was so close to where I really wanted him.

I smiled, and let out a soft moan when I felt Edward press his lips onto the skin just below my belly button. Because his mouth was still touching my skin, I felt his lips break into a smile. Chuckling, he reached out, lightly nibbling my skin.

I laughed, and tried to wiggle out of his grasp; it was useless of course. As I moved, Edward's fingers tightened against my skin, pulling my back to him.

Slowly, he slid fingers under the sides of my thong, and slowly began pulling it down my legs. Removing the offending article, Edward flung it half way across the room.

He sat back on his heels, taking a second to take me in. His eyes moved slowly, mercilessly, over every inch of my skin. His eyes were scorching, and left fire trails on my skin.

I watched as they skirted down my neck, across the swell of my breasts, which were currently heaving with the effort of my lungs; I watched as they traced the soft lines of my curves, working their way to the bare skin of my sex.

_Thank GOD I got waxed. He loves it._

His eyes wandered their way down each of my legs, taking in the shape of my thigh, the curve of my calf, and the slender arch of my feet.

Edward leaned up and smiled at me, placing a kiss right in the center of my folds.

I couldn't take it anymore.

Reaching down, I grabbed Edward by the arms, pulling him up to me. I crashed our bodies together, grabbing onto his belt buckle, and forcing our hips to collide.

We both moaned, as our most sensitive parts came in contact.

Spinning quickly, I pressed Edward up against the wall, much like he had done to me. I pulled back, made quick work of his belt, and ripped his pants and boxers down in one smooth motion. Edward chuckled lightly, before leaning forward and nipping at the skin on my neck.

"Eager, love?" he asked, the smirk evident in his voice. "Shut it, and have your way with me, already." I answered, grasping each of his thighs so I could pick his feet out of his pants before kicking them across the floor.

"As you wish, darling." He growled nipping my neck one last time before reaching out to scoop me up in his arms.

He lifted me with ease, pulling our torsos together, and letting me wrap my legs around his waist. He smirked when I moaned as my sex came in contact with his lower abdominals.

_Only a few more inches and I could…_

Edward sunk his teeth into my shoulder blade, effectively silencing every thought in my head. He walked back, slowly, stumbling by the family room, past the southwest terrace, his mouth never leaving my skin. Finally, we stumbled up the hallway, and into the master suite.

I swear I heard him sigh thankfully as he threw in the door. Walking around the corner, Edward removed his hands from my back, gathering me up under my arms. Throwing my gently on the bed, I let out a giggle, the sounds of my laughter drowning out the sounds of his heavy breathing.

Edward looked at me, and chuckled quietly, before getting on his knees on the edge of the bed; placing his hands by my ankles, he began crawling up towards me.

Inching his way closer, I began sliding my way up to the headboard, going until the top of my head hit one of the iron slats. Groaning, I focused on the feeling of his skin occasionally touching my own as he trailed his body up mine.

Edward took my left ankle in his hand, kissing the skin, lightly nipping around the bone. I arched my back a little, surprised at the sexual nature of these touches.

Kissing my way up my left leg, I felt the anticipation building in my stomach as he approached my sex. Soon, his hot breath was trailing around my inner thigh; he took his tongue, drawing patterns on my thigh, getting closer to my sex with every pass. Just as he was about to go right where I wanted him, he nipped my thigh, before moving over to my right leg, starting all the way back at my ankle.

I've never been so sexually frustrated.

Repeating the cycle, he slowly, and I do mean **slowly**, worked his way up my leg. Except this time, when he reached my sex, he took his long tongue, and slowly licked the length of my folds. The moan that escaped my lips wasn't even human.

_I am going to die._

Edward chuckled against my flesh, his hot breath only heightening my sensations. Slowly parting my folds, he dove back in, lapping up my juices with fervor I'd never known.

_Damn, he really goes all out for this. Not like I won't use that to my advantage later… NO! FUCK! Bad Bella. This is only happening for comparable purposes… nothing is going to come of this…_

As much as I didn't want this to end, I knew that it was going to eventually. So I decided to throw myself into the moment… hell, I needed to enjoy this as much as possible… especially because it was never going to happen again.

Edward traced his tongue up my inner folds, finding and circling my clit. I arched my back as he took the bundle of nerves into his mouth, sucking gently. He continued his ministrations until the feeling became too much.

My back arched, bringing my sensitive flesh closer to him, and my body went rigid. I moaned loudly, the sound ripping through the air, surrounding us on the bed. Edward allowed me to ride out my orgasm, before removing his mouth from my extremely sensitive flesh, and crawling the rest of the way up my body.

He wrapped his hand around my head, finally bringing our mouths back together. I could taste myself on his tongue, and it was more of a turn on than I ever would have thought. Eventually, Edward broke away from my mouth, kissing down my neck, making his way to my chest.

Taking one breast in his hands, tweaking the nipple with his fingertips, he brought his lips down to the other one, tracing my nipple with his tongue, before sucking it into his mouth, lightly nipping with his teeth.

I moaned, arching my back into him. Edward chuckled around my breast, before switching, putting his mouth on the other breast, as he tweaked the other with his fingers.

I couldn't take it anymore.

"Edward," I said, my breath coming out in quick, shallow pants, "if you don't put yourself inside me right now, I'll grab my dildo and finish myself off."

That seemed to get him motivated.

Edward centered himself between my legs before looking back up at me. "Do you, uhm… condoms?" he asked, looking at me nervously.

_Of course I have condoms…_ I thought, wanting to laugh out loud. _But is it insane if I just play it like I don't just so I can feel every inch of him inside me? I want to feel Edward… not a plastic, latex version of him. Fuck it, I'm lying._

"Pill." I stuttered, "I'm clean. You're good?" I asked, trying desperately to get him inside me as quickly as humanly possible.

"Of course I'm clean. I get tested every two months."

_What? Yeah, we'd be talking about that later._

"Okay, then go." I said, my voice sounding as desperate as I felt.

Slowly, too slowly, he eased his length into me. Because I wasn't used to someone of his size, it took some getting used to. But I think he sensed this, because once he was fully sheathed inside me, he didn't move until I gave him the signal that it was okay.

Slowly, he began moving inside me, pulling almost all the way out before pushing back in completely. And while I appreciated this, and would probably love it some other time, all I wanted right now was a good ol'fashioned fucking.

So, of course, I told him so.

"Edward," I gasped, wrapping my arms around his torso, and sinking my nails into his back, pulling him into me. "you…" I wrapped my arms around his neck as he brought his mouth down to my throat. As he began sucking on the sensitive skin of my neck, I moaned, leaning to whisper, "Edward. I want you to fuck me. Save this "making love" for another time. I need you. Now."

Well that got him going.

Edward pulled my hands from around his next, lacing our fingers together and pushing them above my head. He dipped his head, and bit my neck, definitely leaving a mark, as he slammed into me.

I moaned loudly, appreciatively, thankful that I was finally getting what I wanted.

We continued this way, Edward slamming his cock in and out of me, the force of it slowly pushing me up to the headboard. I spent my time clawing at Edward's back, moaning uncontrollably.

Edward leaned down, as though covering my body with his, and began whispering the dirtiest things in my ear. "Your pussy, Bella. Oh god." He moaned loudly, muffling the sound in my neck, the vibrations shooting straight to my core. "You've been such a tease, Bella." He said, grabbing the skin of my neck between his teeth. He reached up under me then, grabbing handfuls of my ass. I moaned, arching my back, pulling my ass even higher off the bed. He took the opportunity to bring his hand down on my ass, the sting immediately replaced with almost overwhelming pleasure.

"Bella," he said finally, he hot breath caressing my neck, causing my legs to shake, "I could spend every day of the rest of my life fucking you."

My entire body went rigid as my orgasm ripped through me; I moaned, my legs gripping onto Edward to pull him as far into my body as possible as I rode the waves of my high. My orgasm must have spurned Edward's because seconds later, he was shaking above me, pulsing inside me, and releasing deep within me.

Once we had both ridden out our orgasms, Edward collapsed down on top of me, careful to keep most of his weight off of me. Burying his face in my neck, I could feel Edward's eyelashes fluttering against my skin. He was still awake.

"Edward…" I said, reaching up to run my shaking fingers through his sweaty hair. Edward pulled his face out of my neck, smiling his glorious smile at me.

"Yes, love?" he asked, his voice filled with absolute elation. I stared at him in silence, unable to come up with something to say.

_I've been fucked into silence. Wow… who knew?_

"That was the best sex you've ever had?" he said, a smile on his face, "Well, of course it was, love. I was the one fucking you." He leaned down and bit my neck, before rolling off of me, onto his back.

I scoffed, pretending that was he'd said wasn't absolutely true, and reached over to slap his chest. Edward caught my wrist in his huge hands, using it to pull me onto my side so I was smashed up against him. Edward sighed, wrapped one arm around my shoulder; his other hand began drawing lazy patterns on my arm that he'd wrapped around himself.

Smiling, I snuggled down into his side and burrowed my face into his neck.

_I could lay here forever. Just the smell of him…_

Edward smelled fantastic. And here, in the crook of his neck, was the best smell I'd ever smelled. It was man, sex, sweat, woods, deodorant, cologne, and just… Edward.

I never wanted to leave the safety of his arms.

I sighed, reaching my lips out to give his neck a kiss. "Goodnight, Edward." I mumbled, my speech beginning to slur with sleep. Edward tightened his grip on my shoulders, before turning his head. "I didn't hear you deny what I said, Bella. So I guess I was the best sex you'd ever had."

I smiled against his skin, chuckling lightly at his almost incessant need to be the 'best I'd ever had'. "Eh." I said, pressing my face closer to the skin of his neck. "I've had better." I nipped at his neck playfully, before shutting my eyes again, and tightening my grip on his waist.

"Yeah, yeah, Swan." He said, turning his head and placing a soft kiss on my forehead.

As I slipped off into unconsciousness, I could swear I heard Edward say, "I'm falling in love with you Isabella Marie Swan."

_Edward smiled wickedly as he pulled out another set of handcuffs from his back pocket. "Hold still, Bella. I need to handcuff your other hand to the bed." Walking around the side of the bed, Edward secured one cuff around my wrist, while hooking the other one around one of the iron slats on my bed._

_Great, now both of my hands are immobilized._

_I pulled my feet up, pushing my body up off the bed, bringing myself down quickly. I was doing anything that I could to bring so friction to my sex. I was dying for some human contact._

_Edward, of course, saw this. Pulling rope out of a drawer on my bedside table, he quickly tied my ankles down to the footboard, making sure that my legs were spread wide. "What did I say about moving, Isabella?" he asked, his voice rough and grating._

_He took his hand, pulling it back and slapping it quickly against my pussy. I moaned, and arched my back, desperate to have some sort of contact._

"_Count Isabella." He said, the command in his voice nearly sending to me orgasm. _

_He pulled his hand back, and slapped my sex again. "One." I said, my voice sounding more like a moan than an actual word._

_He slapped me four more times, each time making it just a little bit harder; each time pushing me just a little bit closer to an absolutely earth-shattering orgasm._

"_Alright, Isabella." Edward said, his eyes trailing up at down my sweaty body. "I'll make a deal with you." I looked up at him, desperate for anything that he was willing to give me._

"_I'm going to place my hand right here," he said, placing his hand on my folds, "and you are to do whatever you can to bring yourself to orgasm. You have ten minutes. I suggest you start."_

_I bucked against his hand, glad that I was finally allowed to move against him. The feeling of his hand against my pussy was overwhelming, but I managed to hold off the initial orgasm to allow it to build into something that was going to be even more amazing._

_I worked my hips in a circular motion, bringing to palm of his hand around my clit, rubbing with small circles that got progressively larger until the build up became too much. Then I started over again._

_I moaned his name, hoping that he would give up with this and just fuck me already._

_But I knew that there was no getting around this test. In order to get Edward inside me, I had to show him what I needed. How I needed it, and how I needed him._

_He needed to see it. And I needed to be the one to show him._

_Rubbing myself against him, I began picking up speed and I felt my orgasm building. Suddenly, the wave peaked, and I felt my entire body go stiff as I pushed myself as hard as I could against Edward's hand._

_I continued to rub myself against him as I rode out my orgasm, keeping our bodies in close contact so I wouldn't end my orgasm to abruptly. _

"_Bella…" Edward said, his voice sounding a little distant._

_Why did he sound so far away? And why was he calling me Bella? I shook my head, trying to figure it all out._

"_Bella, wake up. Bella-"_

I woke up with a start, my body jolting to life. I removed my face from the crook of Edward's neck and turned to look up at him.

"Oh, thank god you're awake." Edward said, his voice sounding pained.

"Why… what happened?" I asked, reaching up to wipe sleep from my eyes. _What the hell is he talking about? Psycho._

"What were you dreaming about?" Edward asked, his voice strained; then I realized. Oh my god. "Edward!" I said, gasping, clapping my hand to my reddening face. "I'm so sorry. I… uhm… I was dreaming about…"

"Yeah, I think I know. Did I handcuff you to the bed and then demand that you get yourself off using my hand?" Edward asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"Oh god." I said, I sat up, pulling myself away from him and threw my head in my hands. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean it. I've been trying to control my dreams about you… well, I've only had one, but still. It's inexcusable."

"You've…" Edward reached up, pulling on my shoulder so that I would turn around and face him. "You've dreamt about me before?" he asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Well, no fucking shit! You really did a number on me in that dressing room, there, doll." I said, my voice exasperated.

_Why couldn't he just drop it? Now it's all I'm going to hear about for the rest of the mission. "Have any good dreams lately, Bella?" "What was I doing in your latest one?" "Bet you can't wait to go to bed tonight, huh?" Ugh, I can just see it now. Stupid –_

My thoughts were silenced when Edward crashed his lips to mine. As he moved his lips against mine, I couldn't help but worry about the fact that I must have some spectacular morning breath. "Edward," I said, gasping between kisses, "I need to brush my teeth." "I don't care." He responded, bringing his mouth back to mine, and plunging his tongue in between my lips.

We continued to kiss until I somehow wound up back on my back, Edward situated between my thighs. He began grinding his straining erection against my inner thigh before I came to my senses.

"Oh wait." I said, pulling away, and flipping over so that I was on top of him. I straddled his lap, making sure to keep his erection as far away from me as possible. "We were only having sex once for my comparison. None for you." The look on his face was priceless.

I patted his chest twice, before hopping off, and traipsing over to the bathroom, and flipping the lock. Laughing quietly to myself, I pulled two towels out from the linen closet, placing them on the heated towel rack near the shower. Starting the shower, I walked back to the sink, brushing my teeth and combing through my hair while I waited for the shower to warm up.

Once I was finished, I stood around, listening for any movement from my bedroom. I couldn't hear a damn thing, so Edward was either still in bed, or he was thinking up a plan of some sort. Operation Get Rid of Massive Erection.

Damn, I wanted to help out with that one.

But I knew that I couldn't.

Stepping inside the shower, I took a second to let the water trickle down my body, relaxing my muscles and working out any knots that had formed from the day before.

As much as I wanted Edward in this shower with me, I knew that it was probably such a good thing that he wasn't.

I was getting way too attached to him, and even I knew that this was something that just could not happen. As much as I wanted to be able to be with him, we were working together. If he knew that I'd slept with my partners in the past, I knew without a doubt that he would try and se that against me.

After all, there was no reason that I should be able to sleep with them and not be able to sleep with him.

The only problem was, that I actually had feelings for Edward. I didn't have feelings for Aleksander, or any of the other people that I'd had to sleep with on mission. They didn't make my heart go into fucking **palpitations** like Edward did.

Being in the same room with Edward was not good for my heart health. Or my mental health. All I could think about was undressing him, licking every inch of his skin, hearing his voice call out my name in that sexy, gravelly voice that he gets during sex.

Sighing, I reached over, grabbed the shampoo and began to lather up my hair. Massaging the liquid into my scalp forced my to calm down a little, and allowed me to take a few deep breaths. As I was rinsing, I heard the click of the door lock, and the door open and shut quickly, but quietly.

_And this is what you get for having sex with a spy._

Even though my shower was stone, the outer wall facing the rest of the bathroom was made with glass stones that were easy to see through on my side, and impossible to see through from the outside.

Edward walked over to the linen closet, pulled himself out a towel, placing it on the heater next to my two towels.

After making sure that the towel was situated, he walked over to the medicine cabinet and pulled out one of my extra toothbrushes.

_How the FUCK did he know that I kept extras?_

After squirting some toothpaste onto his brush, Edward began brushing his teeth; the brush drawing attention to his perfect lips. I sighed, feeling myself slip a little bit down the fall I'd pressed myself up against.

_Ugh! Bastard. He knows I'm watching. I'm going to ignore him._

Reaching down, I pulled out some conditioner, carefully running it through my hair, making sure that I got every single strand. Washing my face, and rinsing out my hair, I had been doing a great job at avoiding looking in Edward's direction. That was, of course, until I noticed that he was casually stroking his erection as he brushed his teeth.

_Oh god._ I felt my knees begin to shake, and I had to physically restrain myself to keep from running out of the shower and dragging him in with me.

Suddenly, Edward rinsed off his toothbrush, stretched his arms up to the ceiling, and began walking back towards the shower.

_Oh god, he was going to get in with me._

I didn't even have time to properly freak out, because suddenly, Edward was stepping into the shower, his lean body standing under one of the many streams of water that was coming from one of the many places on the walls and ceiling.

"Hey sunshine." Edward said, leaning down and placing a kiss on my forehead. I grinned at him, before reaching over to grab my loofah, squeezing some strawberry scented body wash onto the purple fabric. "Can I get some of that?" Edward asked, running his hands across his chest as though to emphasize of point. "Sure." I said, eying him warily, being careful to keep my eyes above his waist.

I squeezed some pink liquid out into his hands, capped the bottle, and placed it back on the shelf where it belonged. Slowly, I began lathering myself up, trying with all my might to avoid eye contact with Edward.

Hell, I couldn't even look in his general direction.

And then I heard him moan. It was so faint, I wasn't sure that I heard it at first, but then he did it again, just a little bit louder this time. My eyes, operating by their own volition, flicked over to him, and immediately dropped to his hips.

And that was the first time I had seen Edward Anthony Cullen bringing pleasure to himself.

He was slowly stroking up and down his length, as though he had all the time in the world. The soap was bubbling around his hand, leaving paths of bubbles along his length. The innocence of the bubbles seemed quite ironic given the action that was creating them.

Edward chose that moment to look up, catching my eyes with his. He grinned wickedly at me, before looking back down towards his cock. He began stroking harder, and I noticed that he had closed his eyes.

"Bella…" he said, his voice was strained and needy, and sent shockwaves through my core. Edward leaned his back against the shower wall, pushing his hips out and up into his hand, his moans becoming louder with each pass of his hand.

I stood there, slowly running the loofah over my body, watching him. It was as though I was stuck in a trance, unable to break my eyes away, unable to care that I was sitting here watching him perform a very private act.

Eventually, Edward's movements became erratic, his arms and legs began to shake with effort, and the veins in his neck began to pop out a little bit. I smiled, noting that he was getting ready to orgasm. "Oh, Bella." He said, pushing his hand along his length faster and faster. My name eventually began tumbling from his lips, and a few moments later, he was spurting out onto his hand.

Edward's moans could have shattered the glass walls around us.

Realizing that I had just watched Edward pleasure himself for… god knows how long, I finishing washing my body, threw my loofah back where it belonged, and practically jumped out of the shower. Grabbing my towels and wrapping one around myself, and throwing my hair up in the other, I ran out of the bathroom.

I patted myself dry, walking into the closet and throwing my towel in the laundry before walking over to the shelves in my closet to find some clothes. Sliding on a pair of boxers and an old Weezer t-shirt from one of their many concerts I'd been to, as well as a pair of socks, I ran my fingers through my hair to fluff out the curls before they dried.

I walked out into the kitchen, thinking about what I could possibly do to get this man out of my house. Of course, nothing came to mind.

Sighing, I leaned over the counter, clicking on my iHome, putting my iPod on shuffle.

I smiled to myself as the opening notes beats from one of my favorite songs came pumping through the speakers. I began pulling stuff out from the fridge and started singing along.

_I feel like I've been blown apart_

_There are pieces here I don't know where they go _

_(I don't know where they go)_

_Kiss me on my salty lips _

_bet you feel a little crazy but for me we'll be famous on TV_

I was dancing along in the kitchen, trying to decide what I wanted to make for breakfast. I walked over taking a quick stock of the cabinet. "Pancakes…" I mumbled to myself, and I began grabbing the necessities from the shelf.

_Would it be my fault if I could turn you on_

_Would I be so bad if I could turn you on_

_When I kiss your mouth I want to taste it_

_Turn you upside down don't wanna waste it_

_I jump on you, you jump on me _

_You pushed me out and even though you know I love you_

_I feel inclined to slap you in the mouth_

_When I kiss your salty lips you will feel a little crazy _

_but for me Ill be famous on TV_

_Would it be my fault if I could turn you on_

_Would I be so bad if I could turn you on_

_When I kiss your mouth I want to taste it_

_Turn you upside down don't wanna waste it_

_Would it be my fault if I could turn you on_

_Would I be so bad if I could turn you on_

_When I kiss your mouth I want to taste it_

_Turn you upside down don't wanna waste it_

Mixing the ingredients in a huge bowl, I pulled out a skillet and began warming it up. I had pulled out bananas, blueberries, and chocolate chips. I was going a little crazy this morning with the pancakes, but you never knew what I'd be in the mood for later.

_Now will it be my fault if I take your love and throw it _

_Why you might restrain me _

_But could you really blame me _

_And you will feel you blown apart _

_All the pieces there will fit to make you whole _

_And I know where they go _

_Would it be my fault if I could turn you on_

_Would I be so bad if I could turn you on_

_When I kiss your mouth I want to taste it_

_Turn you upside down don't wanna waste it_

_When I kiss your mouth I want to taste it_

_Turn you upside down don't wanna waste it_

_When I kiss your mouth I want to taste it_

_Turn you upside down don't wanna waste it_

After I had spooned the first batch of pancakes onto the skillet, I started making a pot of coffee.

I had just poured myself a cup when a certain Edward Cullen emerged from the shower, freshly shaven.

_What the… Did he…_

"Did you use my razor to shave?" I asked, the shock evident in my voice.

He looked at me with a smile on his face, and said, "Well, how did you expect me to shave, love?" I gaped at him.

Edward suddenly burst out laughing; he was barely able to look at me he was laughing so hard. And then I realized… he was in different clothes. Instead of the leftover pieces of the tux I expected to see him in, Edward was in black football shorts and a black t-shirt that hugged him in all the appropriate (or should I say inappropriate…) places.

_Damn him for looking so fucking fine this morning. It's early, and he hasn't had coffee in his system yet. How in holy hell could he possibly look so good? Or smell so good for that matter…._

I looked down at his hand and noticed that he was holding a small overnight bag.

"What is that?" I asked, looking at him, gesturing towards the bag in his hand.

He looked down at his hand before holding it up. "What does it appear to be, love?" the sarcasm evident in his voice. "Ha ha." I deadpanned. "Bite me."

Edward leaned close to me, he face inches from mine. "I'd be glad to." He said, his fresh breath fanning over my face.

We stood there a little longer, breathing each other's air, the tension so thick I could have cut it with a knife.

Just then, I noticed that Edward was leaning in, as though he was going to kiss me. I flipped, spinning around and turning back to the pancakes.

_Perfect timing, they need to be turned._

I flipped the first batch, all chocolate chip because that's what I wanted, and walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bit of fruit to nosh on while I waited for everything to finish cooking.

Pulling out two oranges, I placed mine on the counter, and tossed the other one at Edward. Chewing the orange quietly, I stared off into space a bit as I waited for the pancakes to finish.

_There was no way that he felt anything for me. Just because I felt something for him, didn't mean that he returned my feelings. _

I began turning the pancakes onto a plate, starting the next batch. I looked up, and noticed that Edward was watching me intently.

"What?" I asked, laughing awkwardly. He just smiled and shook his head. "Nothing…" he said, the cocky smirk finding its way back onto his face. I just sighed and shook my head.

_Fine. You want to pretend like you didn't just give me the best sex of my life? That's fine. We don't have to talk about it at all. You want to play this game… game on._

I finished the pancakes, and pulled out plates, holding them out in Edward's direction. "Can you set the breakfast bar, please?" I asked, smiling innocently at him. Edward looked at me, as though he was gauging my actions, before grinning at me and taking the plates out of my hand.

When he reached over to remove the plates from me, his hand brushed up against mine. Letting his finger trail down along my hand, he hitched our pinkies together before finally removing the plates from my hand.

Standing there in shock, I stared at him, my mouth falling open when he winked at me before turning around and setting our plates on the counter.

He walked back into the kitchen, staring at the cabinets as though he was trying to remember something, before walking to one next to the dishwasher, pulling open the drawer, and taking out silverware.

"How did you know that that was my silverware drawer?" I asked, looking at him in astonishment.

"Well," Edward said, tapping his head, "I'm observant. Also, this is the most common place to keep silverware. Statistically." He said, gesturing to the drawer.

I shook my head. "Such a spy…" I muttered, looking down petulantly. Edward laughed out loud before walking back into the kitchen to grab two glasses and juice from the fridge. I watched him pour juice into each of the cups before refilling our coffee mugs.

"I was going to ask how you knew how I took my coffee…" I said, a smile on my face as I walked over to the breakfast bar and sat down, "but I know what you're going to say." Edward just looked at me over his shoulder as he stirred our cups, and winked at me.

"I pay attention to a lot of things about you, love." he said; the look on his face was joking, but his tone was completely serious.

_Now, why the fuck did he need to go and do that? Now I have no idea what to think. Damn him. Damn him right to hell._

Edward walked back, carrying our coffees in his hand, placed mine gently in front of me and kissed my temple before sitting down beside me.

_What. The. Fuck._

"EDWARD." I said, my voice firm. "You can't just go around kissing me. We're friends, that's it." Edward looked at me and chuckled; "Oh really… do friends do what we did last night? Or this morning…?" he looked at me, his eyes hooded, the green drawing me into him.

_Damn him. Shit… I was saying that a lot._

"Yeah, what the fuck was that about?" I asked, laughing, trying to sound as casual as possible. I reached over, grabbing three pancakes and throwing them on my plate, slathering them in syrup. Taking a huge bite, I looked over at him, expectantly.

He chuckled, running a hand awkwardly through his hair as he started making his own plate. "Well, there is this really beautiful woman that I know. I really want to get to know her better, but I work with her; so it can't go there. But last night, we had the most amazing sex I've ever had, to have something to compare our friendship too. And, well, when I woke up a little sexually frustrated this morning… I had to… uh… take care of it."

"Hm…" I said, chewing my pancakes and pretending to look up thoughtfully, "lucky girl." I said, smiling at him.

"If only she thought so." He mumbled; I looked up then, bringing my eyes to his. Our eyes locked, his green eyes grabbing onto my chocolate ones, his gaze threatening to overcome me.

We sat like that for a while, for how long, I'll probably never know, until we were suddenly broken apart by my phone ringing

"_I know I should get next to you_

_You got a look that makes me think you're cool_

_But it's just sexual attraction_

_Not something real so I'd rather keep wackin' "_

I hopped up, running over to grab my phone before any more of my ringtone played. I loved that song, but knowing who it was… Edward was definitely going to get the wrong idea.

_Though, why the fuck should I be concerned? Seriously… fuck him._

"Hey, Jake. What's good?" I said, smiling, as I walked back over to the breakfast bar, hopping into my seat before taking a huge bite of my pancakes.

"I want to meet with you and Edward before we continue the mission. We need to plan together, talk about what he knows, what we know… have you gotten the name of his MC? Jake asked. "What the hell is an MC Jake?" I asked, laughing.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Edward looking at me. Well, I guess staring was the appropriate term. And he didn't seem happy.

_Good. Asshole. That's what you fucking get for sleeping with me and then flirting with me. False hope… god, he's SUCH A DICK._

"Mission coordinator, Bellie. Mission coordinator. Get with the program." Jake laughed, and I heard someone slap him upside the head.

"_Don't be such an ass, Jake. Bella is your best friend, you will respect her." _I heard Leah say in the background. I immediately started laughing, "THANKS LEAH!" I yelled into the phone, laughing as I shoveled pancakes into my mouth.

"_No problem, Bella. I'll reign him in for you!" _ I heard Leah yell back.

_Hahaha, I guess Jake had her on speaker. To be able to share my secret with someone like that…_

"But anyway, yes, Jake. His name is Emmett."

I saw Edward perk up at the mention of Emmett. What I would give to know what he was thinking right now.

"Okay, I'll get in contact with him and call you back in… an hour and a half."

I sighed, "Okay, Jake. I'll talk to you then."

I hung up, tossing the phone back onto the counter before reaching back for more food.

"Bella… who the hell was that?" Edward asked. His voice sounded tense, as though he was trying to restrain himself, as though he was trying to control his anger. I laughed, and instead of turning my head to look at him, angled my neck and looked at him over my shoulder.

"My MC." I answered, flashing him a smile before continuing to eat. "Your…what?" Edward asked, the anger still flashing in his eyes.

I looked at him for a few seconds before immediately busting out in laughter. "Edward. He's my mission coordinator, and my best friend. And he and his girlfriend are the best couple ever. So you can stop doing that weird 'jealous guy' thing. It's not cute."

_Okay, so it was a little cute. _

Scooping the last bit of pancakes into my mouth, I walked back into the kitchen, cleaned my plate and tossed it in the dishwasher. I walked into the living room, grabbed my latest book off of my coffee table and flopped on the couch.

Lying down, I sat the book up on my chest so I could read, running my hand along my stomach underneath my shirt. I heard Edward rustling around in the kitchen, opening and closing the dishwasher, before I heard his footsteps start getting closer to me. _Shit._

Before I knew what was happening, Edward had taken the book from my hands, thrown it across the room, and stared down at me. The anger that had once taken up home in his eyes was no longer there.

It was replaced with the lust that I was so familiar with.

_Oh god. I cannot handle this right now. I cannot handle this at all, let alone right now. Besides the fact that I'm massively disgusting…why the hell did I eat SIX PANCAKES?_

"Excuse me." I said, looking up at him. He smiled down at me. "What?" he asked, feigning innocence; I rolled my eyes, before sitting up and patting the couch next to me. "Sit." I said, smiling at him.

Edward plopped down on the couch, throwing his legs out onto the coffee table in front of him. "Excuse me!" I said, laughing and swatting his legs off the table. "Get your nasty feet off the table. I don't know if this is acceptable in London, but it is certainly not acceptable in my house."

Edward laughed, moving his feet off my table. "Did you want to talk about something?" he asked, his gorgeous, lilting voice making me want to smile.

"Jake wants to meet with us and talk about what the plan is. Apparently I'm supposed to tell you to bring Emmett. Is he in the states, or what is the deal there?" I asked. He looked at me and smiled. "He's here. So is his wife. She's an absolute ax wound. Total article. But they're great together." I smiled, "I love your British slang. It's so cool. Say something else."

Edward just laughed, "I will not be degraded in this manner, Miss Swan."

I giggled, slapping his chest, before picking myself up off of the couch.

"I'm going on a run. You're more than welcome to tag along, but it's going to be a long one." Edward looked at me, "How long?"

I snickered for a bit before Edward gave me a look. Smiling, I said, "About ten miles. Not as many as usual, but it will have to do, I guess."

I leaned back on my heels, and spun around, walking out of the room. Half way down the hall, I turned my head over my shoulder; "Come on, princess, get your arse up." I said, laughing a little at my horrendous accent. Edward chuckled at my attempt at British slang, but I heard him at least begin to move his ass off the couch.

Walking back into my room, I quickly changed into my running clothes and pulled my hair up. Slipping on my running shoes, I jogged back out into the kitchen. "Edward?" I said, looking around for him.

"Right here, Bella." I spun around, and saw Edward leaning against the wall near the door. "Ready?" I asked, reaching back and running my fingers through my ponytail and pulling it tight.

Edward nodded, reaching his hand out to hand me a bottle of water he had at his side. Smiling, I took a swig, before walking out the door, Edward on my tail.

After locking the door, and shoving the key in my sneaker, Edward and I hopped into the elevator to begin our descent to the lobby.

As soon as the door shut, I felt like I was shot through with an electric current. Every cell in my body was alive, practically buzzing with anticipation. What I was anticipating, I'm not exactly sure… though I'm almost positive that it had something to do with the fact that Edward was so close to me.

Occasionally, as we descended, Edward's finger would brush up against mine, causing a shock to shoot up my arm. The urge to press the stop button and throw Edward up against the wall continued to get greater as we went down; thank god I had really good self-control.

Finally, the elevator got down to the lobby, and I practically ran out of the elevator. "Do you talk while you run?" Edward asked, looking at me. "I usually run alone… so no. I mean, we can if you want…" I said, looking over at him nervously. "I wouldn't want you to do anything that you aren't used to. Besides," he said, reaching into his pocket, "I brought my iPod." He smiled, holding it up for me to see.

I grinned, before producing my own iPod, putting it in my armband, and securing the band to my upper arm.

"Where do you stretch?" He asked, looking between the door and me. I gestured towards the door with my head, as I began walking outside. "Hello, Mike." I said, smiling at the doorman. "Hello, Bella." Mike said, a goofy smile on his face, "Enjoy your run."

I grinned, before walking out the door, Edward on my heels.

_I could still feel him. Is it weird that I can feel his presence…? Oh god, I need to run this out. Immediately._

We stretched quickly on the sidewalk, loosening up our muscles a little bit from the night before. "How far is five miles out?" Edward asked, as he stretched out his hamstrings. "To the warship." I said, stretching my arms out over my head. I bent over, touched my toes for a few seconds before shooting up and bouncing up and down a few times on my toes.

"Want to race?" I asked, smiling cockily at him. Edward chuckled, his eyes darkening as he looked at me. "You seriously think that you can outrun me?" I stared at him for a few seconds, before I winked and clicked on my iPod. Then I took off running.

As the Violent Femmes pumped through my ears, my feet pounded down on the concrete, my body pushing itself to the limit so that I could beat Edward. I knew that if I got enough of a lead early, it would discourage him. Though, I was honestly worried about his stamina.

_He had amazing stamina… AGH! STOP THINKING THAT WAY!_

I could feel Edward behind me, but I didn't dare look back. I just continued to push myself, forcing my feet to move as quickly as they could across the ground, just trying to make sure that I stayed a little bit ahead of Edward at all times.

I reached the warship about a minute before Edward did, about a half an hour later. Spinning around, I began sprinting back to my apartment, passing Edward on the way. Our eyes locked as I passed him, and I winked, before I started churning my legs faster.

By the time I got back to my apartment, I felt like my entire body was on fire. I had never run that hard, never forced myself along at that speed. I could have collapsed right there on the porch. I plopped down on the grass outside my building while I waited for Edward and took my pulse.

_Holy shit… 210. That's probably not healthy._

Just then, Edward came bounding over, in what appeared to be a light run. As he approached, he slowed to a quick walk, before coming over to me on the grass and collapsing on top of me.

His body was hot and sweaty against mine, his entire shirt completely soaked through with sweat, despite the fact that it was bitterly cold out.

We lay there for a few seconds before I started laughing. It wasn't a respectful, quiet laugh. No, it was a full, body-shaking laugh that echoed around us. "I beat you, I beat you!" I said, shimmying my hips underneath him as though I were dancing. I began pumping my hands in the air in a pseudo-victory dance, smiling and laughing as I continued my victory celebrations.

"Bella." Edward said, his voice strained, "Can you please stop doing that?" I halted my movements then, "Why," I asked, "what's wrong? Afraid people will hear that I beat you?" I laughed. "Not exactly…" he said, moving above me so that his hips came in contact with my left thigh.

_Oh. OH. THAT'S why he doesn't want me to go anywhere… Hm. Well, it's pretty damn impressive that he was able to get it up… especially seeing as how it's fucking freezing out here._

Sighing, I reached up and patted his shoulder. "Sorry, bud."

Edward sighed in return, and bent down to place a kiss on my cheek. "No problem, love. Now, let's go upstairs. We both need to shower again." Edward rolled off of me, stood up, before reaching down to take my hand.

Of course, the electric pulse that shot through my hand was expected now.

We got back up into the apartment, and I quickly stripped off my clothes, walking back to my room in my sports bra and running spandex. "You can go get a shower in one of the guest bathrooms, Edward. Just pick whichever room you like."

Edward sighed and nodded, before disappearing into one of my many extra bedrooms. Breathing a sigh of relief, I walked back into my bedroom, tossing my clothes into the hamper just inside my closet. Stripping down, I walked back into the shower, and turned that water on, heating it before I needed to step in.

I reached back, and combed through my hair with my fingers a few times, trying to loosen the strands before I washed it. After a few minutes, I stepped into the shower, allowing my muscles to relax under the heat of the water. Sighing, I washed my hair, allowing the soothing motion of my fingers in my hair to relax me. As I washed the sweat and grime off of my body, I let my mind wander a bit.

_I need to call Jake after I get out… come up with a plan. Maybe I'll have Edward call Emmett…? We __**do**__ need to meet each other's respective MCs today… speaking of Edward… how is it that he can turn me on so completely? Everything about him nearly does me in. Every time he looks at me, I wanted to rip my clothes off. AGH._

I sighed, and finished washing up, before shutting off the water and stepping out, wrapping a huge towel around myself. Walking out of my bathroom, I walked into my closet, pulling out some clothes to wear. I slid on a pair of black skinny jeans and a The Black Keys band t-shirt; the shirt was a light blue with a huge picture of a bloodhound on it, The Black Keys surrounding the image. Running a towel through my hair, and fluffing out my curls, I slipped some socks on my feet and walked out into the living room to wait for Edward.

I clicked on the television, flipping over to the BBC News Network. I sat quietly watching the news until I heard Edward coming back into the room. I looked over at him and immediately started laughing.

Edward looked down at himself. "What?" he asked, "I'm wearing all my clothes right…" I started laughing uncontrollably, waving my hand in front of my face, trying to keep myself from turning too red. I stood up, trying to contain my laughter, as I gestured down to the front of my shirt.

Edward looked at me for a few seconds before he, too, started laughing hysterically. "How… did we… manage… to pick… the same… band?" Edward asked, wiping tears away from his face. Edward was wearing a black t-shirt that said, "This is my The Black Keys t-shirt".

"I don't know." I said, giggling. I sat back down on the couch, wiping tears away from my face, taking a few deep breaths as I resumed watching BBC. Edward plopped down next to me, watching me watch the news. "What is it with you and British people?" he asked, smiling at me.

"I don't watch American news." I said defensively. Edward just laughed as we settled down into the couch listening to the reporters jabber about what was going on in the world.

Suddenly, my phone began ringing, signaling that Jake was calling me back.

"_I know I should get next to you_

_You got a look that makes me think you're cool_

_But it's just sexual attraction_

_Not something real so I'd rather keep wackin' "_

I hopped up, running into the kitchen to grab my phone off of the counter. "Hey Jake. What's good?" I said, smiling. "Hey Bells. So let's get together and meet sometime today. I'm good to meet at three." I looked over at the clock… two o'clock. Perfect. "Sound good, Jake. How does The Claddaugh Pub sound?" I asked, leaning over to tap Edward on the shoulder. "Call Emmett, Claddaugh Pub, three o'clock." I whispered, gesturing towards my head in a phone like gesture.

Edward nodded, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone, and walked into the dining room to call Emmett.

"Okay, Bells. I'll meet you two there. Is he calling his MC?" I held the phone away from my head, so that I could hear Edward on the phone in the dining room. "Hey Em, this is Edward…."

Smiled, "Yep, they're on the phone now, Jake. We'll see you there. Are you bringing Leah?" "No," Jake said, "I told her that I needed to go for work. She's okay with it."

"Okay," I said, "but just so you know, I think that Emmett, Edward's MC, is probably bringing his wife. They are here together. Though, I'm assuming that she knows everything, and is under the strictest of confidentiality agreements like Leah is." Jake laughed, "That's fine, Bells. As long as you are okay with her being there."

I smiled, "Of course I am Jake. If I wasn't, I would ask Edward not to allow her." "I know you would, Bells." Jake said, "But I'll see you later. Bye!" he said. I grinned, shutting the phone off, and shoving it in my pocket.

Edward emerged a few minutes later, putting his phone back into his own pocket. "Alright, we're good. Emmett and Rose will meet us at The Claddaugh Pub in an hour."

Edward sat down on the couch next to me, laying down and throwing his legs over my lap. Edward smiling, grabbed my hand, and pulled me down so that I was lying on his chest.

He began running his fingers through my hair, which had since dried from the shower, as he breathed in deeply. "Tell me about yourself, Bella." He said, his voice quiet. I angled my head so that I could look at him. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything." He answered simply; I sighed, before turning my head again so that I was looking away from him.

"Well, I was born in Forks, Washington. It's a tiny little town about three hours away from Seattle. My mom, Renee moved to Phoenix when I was two, leaving my dad back in Forks. She married a shortstop from the Diamondbacks, Phil Dwyer, and she was really happy. Phil got traded to the Marlins, so I moved back up to Forks with my dad when I was sixteen. I lived with Charlie until I graduated, went to UDub, then moved east when I got the job with the CIA."

"I want more than just the abridged version, Isabella Marie." he said; I could feel him staring down at me disapprovingly. "Ohhh breaking out the full name." I joked, chuckling lightly. He didn't say anything, just continued to run his hands through my hair. "It's your turn…" I said, the uncomfortable tone in my voice completely killing my opportunity to even remotely play it cool.

"Well…" Edward said, his fingers tracing patterns on my neck. "I was born in Truro, in Cornwall. My brother Emmett was born about a year after I was, and we are inseparable. My parents, Carlisle and Esme, are still together and very much in love. They inspire me, and make me want to find that for myself. My grandfather, also Edward Cullen, was supposed to be Duke of Cornwall, but he turned the position down, choosing to stay home with his family. My family still has royal duties, though, which is kind of bollocks. Emmett and I, of course, have decided that pursuing our own career options after university was more important than working with the royalty of England, and here we are." Edward stopped talking, and we continued to lie there, the silence stretching out in front of us.

Eventually, he sighed, and leaned down to kiss my forehead. "Let's play a game." He said. I smiled, and nodded my head against his chest, not really in the mood to speak at the moment.

"Okay, we're going to alternate asking questions. We both need to answer the question, and we need to answer honestly. I'll ask first."

"Of course you will…" I muttered, smiling. Edward just chuckled, and resumed running his fingers through my hair. "Favorite color?" he asked, "Mine's blue."

"Uhmmm… green." I answered. "Okay, now your turn." He said, tapping his finger on the side of my head. "Birthday?" I said, "Mine is 13 September 1985."

"20 June, same year." He said. We continued like this for forty-five minutes, switching back and forth, asking each other question after question. Sometimes they were ridiculous, like when Edward asked what my favorite fabric pattern is, or when I asked what his favorite kitchen appliance was. Sometimes, they were more serious, like when he asked, "If you could see one change in the world, what would it be?"

I've never had the chance to learn so much about someone so quickly.

I learned that there is so much more to Edward. He isn't just a pretty face… he is a strong, intelligent, and determined man. He knows what he wants, he always did, and he was never afraid to go for it. He basically told his "royal duties" to suck it, and went off and pursued what he wanted to, which ultimately brought him to me.

He was like me in that way.

When I first graduated from UDub with a job offer from the CIA, Charlie did everything that he could to keep me on the west coast. I loved him, and I didn't want to leave him, but I knew that I was going to have to in order to grow as a person, not to mention the fact that this was the job of my dreams.

The night I left, Charlie and I were having an argument in the kitchen over my departure. I couldn't believe that he was still so insistent that I stay, that I did the worst thing I could have possibly done: I threw my mother's leaving words back at him.

When my father went to bed that night, I crept into my room, tears rolling down my face as I packed. I scribbled a note to my father, telling him that I was leaving, and flew out to Washington D.C.

I lived in a small apartment in Baltimore for a few months, waiting for the big checks from the CIA to pile up, until I moved into the pent house I was currently living in.

I still hadn't made up with Charlie. I wanted to, but I don't think that he was ready to hear from me…

_Hmmm… maybe that is what Edward wanted to hear when he asked about me._

Sighing, I turned my wrist so I could check my watch. "Agh… we have to go." I said, jumping out from behind Edward. I reached out, pulled Edward to his feet, and we shuffled out of my apartment, and into the elevator.

As we rode down to the garage, we were talking and laughing, taking turns telling each other stupid jokes, or stories about some really ridiculous things we'd done growing up.

"Once, when I was about seven, I was visiting Charlie, and he took me to La Push to go visit Jacob. Jake had just gotten a new trick bike, so he and I were taking turns making skid marks on the driveway outside his house. Jake was really good at it, and made a really long one, so I tried to beat him. I ended up squeezing the front brake too early, and ended up flying over the handle bars, getting road rash all the way down my right side."

Edward and I were doubled over laughing as we walked over to my car. "Where was your dad during all this?" Edward asked, gasping out the words between his laughter. "My dad was on the lake fishing with Billy, Jake's dad. Jake had to scrape me up off the pavement, throw me in the grass, and go running to the lake. The whole time he was screaming, "Dad! Charlie! Bella's dead!"…" I laughed again, wiping tears away from my eyes as I got into the car. "I've never seen Charlie run so fast in his life." Edward and I kept laughing as I pulled out of the garage and into the afternoon sun.

"Once," Edward said, laughing at the memory as we pulled into traffic, "Emmett and I got it in our heads that we were going to catch a fox for my mother for her birthday." "A fox?" I asked, looking at him in shock.

"Yeah… my dad was always calling my mum a fox, so we assumed that that meant it was her favorite animal. We didn't figure out what it **actually** meant until we were older." He chuckled a bit before finishing his story. "So, we used to sit outside in the dark, tracking the movements of all these foxes that used to run through the woods behind my house. We looked up what they ate, and set up a trap." I laughed, already knowing where this was going.

Edward laughed with me for a second before continuing, "So, the night before my mum's birthday, Emmett and I snuck out, and placed our trap near a fox hole that we'd found in the woods one day. We sat out there for hours in the pitch black, being dead silent, waiting for a fox. Finally, at god knows what hour, we managed to catch one. We were so excited, that Emmett and I ran over to the cage and opened it. Of course, because I was the older brother, I was responsible for reaching into the box first. So, Emmett rips the top off, and runs about ten feet away, just as a **very** cross fox leaps out of the cage and attaches itself to my arm."

We both busted out laughing, my hand shaking as I attempted to change gears as I convulsed with laughter.

"So the thing runs away, and Emmett and I take off running to the house. We go busting in through the back door, screaming bloody murder, until both our parents come running downstairs, in various stages of undress of course, seeing as how it was my mother's birthday night. They see the bite mark on my arm, and my mother starts yelling, asking me where I got it from… all that. We told her everything, and my father had to drive us to the hospital all the way in town. It turned out, that I had contracted rabies from the damn thing. Needless to say, my parents installed a motion sensor security system after that, so Em and I couldn't escape." We both started howling with laugher, as we approached the pub we were supposed to meet Emmett, Rosalie, and Jake at.

We parked, getting out, and walking into the pub. I did a quick scan of the crowd for Jake; I didn't see him, so I tapped Edward. "See your people?" I whispered. Edward shook his head no, so we walked over to the hostess.

The hostess was eye-raping Edward with everything she had. _Back off, bitch._

"Hello," I said, my voice clipped, "table for five please?" I smiled sweetly, trying to stop thinking about all the ways that I could easily kill or injure her.

_Can't stare at him without eyes can you? _

She tore her eyes away from him, making eye contact with me for a second, before reaching down and grabbing five menus. "Follow me." She said, looking right at Edward.

She walked ahead of us, shaking her ass, obviously trying to get Edward to watch her. Edward, on the other hand, seemed to be looking anywhere but at her ass, as he reached his hand over, settling it on my hip and pulling me into his side.

I smiled, and snuggled up into his side as we continued to walk to our table.

The hostess led us to a small table in the middle of the restaurant, near a whole bunch of other diners. _Fuck, this wasn't going to-_

"Excuse me," Edward said, his voice smooth as silk as he reached into his pocket to grab something before his hand returned to his side, "I'm afraid we would like a little more privacy. Could you make that happen for us?"

_Well, shit Edward. When you speak like that, even I'd give you anything you fucking want._

She nodded just as dumbly as I would have, before leading us to a more secluded area of the restaurant. "Does this work?" She asked, he annoying vixen voice restoring my hate for her. "It's excellent, thank you." He said, and he reached over, quickly slipping her a tip. She pocketed the money without checking the denomination, and laid the menus out on the table before quickly disappearing.

We sat there, looking over the menus, and had just ordered drinks when a tall, dark haired, very muscular man, and gorgeous blonde woman arrived at our table. "Em! Rose!" Edward said, jumping out of his seat to wrap them each in a hug. He gestured towards me, "This is Bella. Bella, this," he gestured towards the tall guy, "is Emmett. And this," he gestured towards the supermodel, "is Rosalie."

They sat down next to each other, on Edward's side. "So, Bella," Emmett said, a broad smile on his face, "how does it feel to have to work with our little Eddie here?" Edward scowled, and I giggled, "He's a great partner. Really… determined." I said, laughing.

Emmett smiled; of course, it made me immediately suspicious that he already knew everything. _Damn it. They know we slept together. Eff._

"Emmett is my mission coordinator, or MC as you so affectionately call it. Rosalie is my techie." I nodded in understanding, just as I heard someone come bounding up the stairs towards us. Spinning around, I smiled. "Jake!" I squealed, hopping out of my seat and throwing myself into Jake's arms. Jake laughed, and squeezed me tightly in his huge arms. Jake let me go, and Edward was staring him down. I chuckled at him, rolling my eyes at him. "Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie, this is Jake. Jake, this is Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie." I said, gesturing to each person as I said his or her name.

We sat back down just as the waitress returned, taking the drink orders for the new arrivals.

Rosalie cracked her knuckles under the table, before leaning over and looking at me. "So, do you have any plans for this mission?" she asked. Her voice was smooth and gorgeous, like she was, yet demanding.

"I have been thinking about it, yes." I said, looking at her. "I don't really want to talk about it out in public…" I said, laughing. Rosalie nodded in understanding, a slight smile forming on the sides of her mouth.

_Perfect. I've won her over._

Emmett, I knew, had been won over easily. _No clever line needed._

We sat and chatted through lunch, not covering our plans for the mission until we ordered post-meal coffee. Once the coffee was placed onto the table, and the waitress was gone, we dove into a lengthy conversation about what we wanted to do.

"Well, from what I know, James is currently in Thailand…"

"How are we going to get into dealings with Victoria and Riley?" "Well, we could…"

"What kind of technology are you feeling for this mission…?"

"Where are we getting the money for the purchase of the File before the arrest?"

"Who is handling the arrest?"

Once we had everything sorted out, for the most part, we all went our separate ways. I stood up, and Edward walked over to stand beside me, with Em, Rose, and Jake standing across from us. Edward shook Em and Jake's hands, before giving Rose a hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. I gave Em, Rose, and Jake each a hug and kiss on the cheek, before smiling and walking out of the restaurant with Edward.

We climbed into my car, buckled our seatbelts, silence filling the car for a few minutes. "So, I've never seen Rose take to someone so quickly before. She's normally a total ax wound when she meets someone for the first time. She really must like you."

I smiled, turning my head to look at him. "Really?" I asked, laughter bubbling out of me. He just nodded, a kind of shocked look on his face. "I'm actually kind of scared. I've never seen her accept someone so quickly. She loves you."

_Well, I guess that's a damn good thing then._

I smiled, but didn't say anything. And the silence stretched ahead of us as we drove back to my place so that Edward could get his stuff.

I clicked on the radio, switching to my favorite radio station, praying that something good would be on the radio.

Just then, the opening bars to Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen came pulsing through my speakers. Smiling, I sat back in my seat, listening to my favorite song, allowing the easy, monotonous movements of driving to relax me.

We pulled into the garage underneath my building, parked the car, and got into the elevator. We walked into my penthouse a few minutes later, and I immediately walked into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

"So, where are you sleeping tonight?" I asked, walking into the living room, where Edward was perched on my couch.

"Uhm… about that." Edward said, looking away from me awkwardly. "Oh god." I said, slumping down on the couch next to him. "What?" I said. "I actually don't have a place to stay…" he said, looking over at me from underneath his lashes.

I stared at him.

My silence forced Edward to repeat the words I was sure would kill me. "Can I stay here?"

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed! I'll update as soon as I can, though I have a pretty busy week ahead.**

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**Until next time...**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Hey all, I'm backkkkk!**

**I'm trying to keep to a more regular posting schedule, and by regular I mean frequent, so I hope this makes my readers, YOU GUYS, happy. **

**I didn't think that I was going to get this chapter finished today, because I kept getting distracted… I was looking at pictures of hot guys that I'm friends with on facebook. Oops. Oh, and then I fell asleep at my computer. :/**

**Anyway, I want to take a second to thank IvoryAdulation for continually giving me feedback on the story. I'm glad you love it! (Also, I just started reading one of your stories, Law of Inertia… I love it. I really want you guys to pop over and read it… after all, we all need a little angst: Law of Inertia. )**

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"**Wouldn't it be weird if the only way people could die was that their heads suddenly exploded without warning? If there was simply no other cause of death? One day you'd be sitting there having a hot chocolate, and suddenly your head would explode."**

**-George**

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**Things I don't: Twilight **

* * *

"Can I stay here?"

The words echoed in my head, repeating again and again and again until I thought I was going to go insane.

_How could I even think about letting him stay here? I'm going to know that he is down the hall from me all effing night… there's no way that I'm going to be able to make it through the night without bursting into his room and jumping his bones. _

I looked back at Edward, seeing him looking at me expectantly.

I sighed; "Yeah, sure, Edward. Just uhm, pick one of the rooms and go ahead and unpack." Edward smiled a dazzling smile at me, before stooping down to press a kiss to my forehead, letting his lips linger a bit longer than he normally would have. "Thank you so much, Bella. I promise, I'll be on my best behavior."

I smiled and nodded, watching him walk into one of the guest rooms, shutting the door behind him.

I second the door shut, I threw myself back onto the couch, throwing my hand over my eyes. Taking a few deep breaths, I tried to slow my heart rate down; it was way too high, especially considering the fact that I was just sitting around.

Sighing, I picked myself up off the couch, and walked down the hallway into my library. My smile was back the second I walked into the room; I loved this room, and was so glad that I had decided to put one in the penthouse.

The smell of old books permeated the air, and I took a deep breath, smiling as the scent filled my nose. I always thought of Charlie when I smelled books.

It wasn't because Charlie smelled like an old book, not at all. Charlie smelled like woods, beer, and fish. Oh, and gun polish.

Anyway, when I was young, and I used to fly up to Forks to visit Charlie in the summer, the first thing that we would do EVERY SINGLE TIME was drive into Port Angeles and go to yard sale after yard sale, looking for as many books as we could find. Sometimes, we came up empty handed, but other times, we found so many things, the back of the cruiser was filled to the brim with books.

I'd loved books since I was a child; it was something that Charlie and I had in common. Renée always liked going out and **doing** things; she would hear about a new kind of dance, and she would go and do it. She would go to cooking classes, yoga classes, classes at community college, music lessons… you name it and my mother has done it. Charlie and I, on the other hand, loved to take the time to get the background on the things we'd learned about. Maybe that why we were both so great at what we did; Charlie as police chief, and myself as… well, duh.

We used to sit around, reading our yard sale finds for hours for the first few days of the summer. We would read inside, outside, on the porch, in the grass of the yard… it didn't matter. All that mattered was that we were together, and we were reading. To most people, it would have seemed like we were using it to avoid speaking. But for Charlie and I, that **was** our bonding.

Sighing, I shook Charlie out of my head, and walked over to my large, overstuffed, green chair and plopped down onto the soft fabric. I leaned over the side, grabbing my current read, _Four Comedies, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It_ (by William Shakespeare), off the small table next to my chair.

I smiled, opening to my bookmark that was placed right at the beginning of _Twelfth Night_. I loved Shakespeare; had since I was a young kid. When I was in college, I took so many Shakespeare classes, I eventually ended up adding an English major to my History major.

Yes, I was one of those overachievers. But don't worry, I still found time for fun… maybe a little too much time for fun.

Sighing, I settled down into my chair, curling my legs up to my chest, and resting the book on my knees, allowing myself to fall into the world of Duke Orsino, Olivia, Viola, and Illyria.

I read quietly, silently laughing at the subtle puns and turns of phrase, and sighing at the more romantic moments of the play, when I heard the door open. I knew it was Edward, so I didn't bother looking up.

When the door shut, I just assumed that he had left.

I read and read, allowing the problems in the characters lives distract me from the problems in my own. When I was reading about Olivia, the Duke, and Viola, I wasn't thinking about the fact that Edward was just down the hall in the guestroom. Probably scantily clad… probably thinking about me… probably masturb-

_Oh, stop it!_

Somehow, I managed to completely shut off my mind, and force myself to read. About an two hours later, I finished the play, marking my place in the collection and closing the book with a smile. I closed my eyes for a moment, giving my mind a second to rest.

When I opened my eyes again, I nearly screamed.

Edward was sitting in the other green chair that was opposite mine, reading from one of my leather bound Edgar Allan Poe anthologies.

_Damn it. How didn't I know he was here? I'm the worst spy ever…_

"Enjoy Shakespeare?" Edward asked, looking up at me with a smile on his face. I resisted the urge to walk over there and slap the smile right off of his face.

"Of course." I said, smiling back. "Enjoying Poe?" I said, using the same tone of voice that he had.

"Of course." He answered.

I laughed before getting up off of the chair. "Want some dinner?" I asked, looking over at him and rubbing my stomach, "I'm starting to get a little hungry." "Sure." Edward said, hopping up, "What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking about doing Pasta Primavera. Then some strawberry sorbet for desert?" I said; the suggestion came out more like a question than a statement, which bothered me.

_I wasn't asking him what I should make, I was telling him what I was planning on making. Damn him._

"Sounds fantastic!" Edward said, smiling widely at me. I grinned, "Want to help me?" "Of course I do." He answered, holding his hand out in front of him, indicating that I should walk in front of him out of the room.

_Always the gentleman… though I am going to shake my ass a little more to drive him a little crazy._

I heard Edward groan quietly behind me, and I repressed a laugh. _That's what you get for being so fucking sexy all the time._

We walked into the kitchen, and I immediately pulled out a sauté pan and a huge pot. I filled the pot with my pot filler behind the stovetop, and set the heat to medium, sprinkling some salt into the water to lower the boiling temperature.

Grabbing out a box of pasta, I tossed it next to the stove, smiling when it landed right side up, as though I had walked over and placed it there.

Edward was just staring at me with his mouth open.

"What?" I said, smiling at him. "When you're a spy, you learn things. Now, can you chop?" I asked, walking over to the fridge and pulling out vegetables. Edward just nodded, and I handed him two peppers and three zucchini. "Thin strips, please." I said, smiling at him. "When you're done, just toss them into the pan." I turned on the heat for the oven, reaching over to grab two knives. "Heads up." I said, spinning around and looking at Edward. He was rearranging the vegetables on the cutting board when I tossed the knife to him. He reached up, without even looking, and caught the knife, immediately getting to work cutting the peppers.

_Well, if that isn't one of the sexiest things ever…_

Trying to forget what I'd just seen, I reached back into the fridge and grabbed myself some veggies to cut up. Walking around the counter, I made sure to rub my chest against Edward as I leaned around him to grab another cutting board off of the hook on the wall.

He took a sharp breath in, the cutting momentarily ceasing, as he undoubtedly tried to collect himself. I smiled, but walked around him as though nothing had happened.

Walking so that I was standing opposite him, I placed my vegetables down on the counter, picking up one of the carrots I had selected and running my hand up and down its length. I pretended to be picking off some stray hairs on the carrot, but I knew what I was doing.

I was trying to make Edward feel as crazy as I did. I was trying to make him suffer just a little bit, because I had spent the entire day walking around with a pool in my panties. Not. Fucking. Fair.

I continued my carrot molestation for a few more seconds before I looked up, my eyes catching onto Edward's. It looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

He was watching my hand move up and down the length of the carrot, which held nothing to him by the way (okay, maybe in size, but no WAY in girth…). His eyes were fixated on the movements, and I could feel the heat from his gaze on my hands even though he wasn't really looking at me. Suddenly he looked up; I'm surprised the look in his eyes didn't kill me.

His emerald green eyes were on fire, absolutely on fire. I could see the emotions warring behind his gaze, his potential paths of action fighting back and forth behind his eyes. I knew that part of him knew that we needed to try and make a friendship out of our fiery sexual chemistry, whereas the other part of him obviously wanted to tell that part of himself to sod off so he could have his way with me already.

I don't know which side I wanted to win.

I pretended to come to, giving my head a quick shake, and ceasing my hand motions. I looked up at Edward with an apologetic smile. "Sorry," I said, smiling at him, "I tend to lose myself in my head a little sometimes." I winked, before placed the carrot on my cutting board and starting to cut.

Edward released a shaky breath, and I saw his hands fly out to hold the edge of the counter in front of him, as though he needed to hold on to something in order to keep himself upright. "It's alright, Bella." He said, his voice highly strained.

Edward resumed chopping the vegetables with a newfound fervor. We finished chopping at around the same time, but when I spun around to toss my veggies into the sauté pan, I didn't expect Edward to be there as well. As I arranged my veggies along the bottom of the pan, Edward took the opportunity to press his body along mine, aligning the planes of his body against my back, pressing his straining erection into my lower back.

I had to remind myself not to moan. Steeling my nerves, I grinned, before grinding my hips back onto Edward. "Oh, I'm sorry," I said, spinning around, "I didn't know you were here. Let me just move out of your way." I said, flashing him a mischievous grin, before shimmying out from in front of him. Edward growled quietly under his breath before grabbing my hip and spinning me around. He was breathing heavily, the fire in his eyes having taken on the appearance of a full-blown inferno.

_Holy. Fucking. Hell._

Edward bent his head, gradually bringing his lips closer and closer to mine. My breathing picked up, bringing our chests together, allowing my rock solid nipples the opportunity to rub up against him, even if it was just for a fleeting second.

He continued to bend down until his lips were centimeters away from mine. Our breathing was so heavy, that the sharing of breath between us only served to heat the air around us, increasing the tension, and slowly knocking away all my reservations about jumping into a full-fledged relationship with Edward. Or… at least, having the best sex of my life with Edward. Again.

Suddenly, Edward shot up pulling completely away from me. He held up his left hand, in which he was holding a hand towel. In my… absorption with him, I hadn't noticed that he had been reaching behind me to grab a hand towel off the hook near the stove. Edward flashed me a crooked smile, before leaning down and kissing my forehead, much like he had when I first told him that he could stay here. "Thanks, love. I'm so glad that you're letting my cook with you."

I grumbled a "You're welcome." before walking back to my spot at the counter, and wiping down my cutting board, and hanging it back up on the hook. Putting the veggies in the oven, I set the timer, before checking the state of the water.

"The water is going to be boiling in about ten minutes, so we have some time. What would you like to do?" I asked, looking at him with a smile.

Edward gave me a look, before laughing and shaking his head. "We could always talk about our plans for tomorrow… we do have jobs you know." He said, laughing. I smiled at him and chuckled a bit in response, "Sorry. I tend to forget… rather, I like to forget. It's so much more fun to imagine that I have all this money without actually having to do any work." Edward smiled at me, "I do have all the money without actually having to do any work." I scoffed, before playfully smacking him on the arm. "Alright, alright. We can talk." I said, smiling at him.

We walked over to the breakfast bar, Edward pulled out my stool allowing my to plop down, before he sat down in the stool right next to me.

"So tomorrow, we are flying out to Thailand with Alice." I said, looking at him for confirmation. "Who's Alice again?" Edward asked, looking at me questioningly. "Alice is my best friend, my boss, and my ACTUAL mission coordinator. Jake calls himself that because he is the one that makes sure all my missions run smoothly, but Alice is the one that actually gets me the missions. Did I mention that she was my best friend?" I smiled, trying to stop the word vomit that was threatening to overtake me.

Edward smiled at me. "You may have mentioned it once before…" he chucked. "So once, we get into Thailand, we're going to seek out James. Where did Emmett tell you he was?"

"Emmett has him in the Pathum Wan District of Bangkok. We've got him in a high rise, 14th floor, off of Salasin Road." Edward said, recalling the details of a conversation with Emmett that he must have had since our chat at lunch.

"Damn," I said, laughing, "you Brits are all over the details." I hopped up when I saw that the water was boiling and walked back into the kitchen. I looked over at Edward at the bar as I poured the pasta into the pot, and adding a dash of olive oil to keep it from sticking together. "What are we going to do if we get there and he's not there? Or if he is there? We never really talked about it at lunch."

"Well," he said, crossing his hands in front of him as I leaned over to move the vegetables around in the oven, "if he's there, we are going to have to make it clear that we intend to purchase the files. Maybe talk to him a little bit… get his intentions for the file out of him. I have a feeling that there is someone above him controlling these strings. If he isn't there… we start back at square one. Maybe talk to Laurent and tell him that we are interested in talking to James…?"

"Maybe we could play it like we wanted to go into a partnership with him. When he tells us that he can't, because he is already loyal to someone else, we might be able to get some information about them out of him." I said, as I walked back around the counter and sat back down next to Edward. He nodded, putting his head in the palm of his hand as though he was thinking about it.

"Sounds like a plan." He said, grinning. "Have you talked to Alice about getting the plane ready for our flight tomorrow?"

My face must have blanched because Edward suddenly looked very concerned. "Shit." I said, getting up from my seat and running into my office.

I heard Edward get up off the chair and follow me, shutting the door behind me and sitting in one of the chairs in the corner. I did a quick electronic bug scan of the room, shutting the sound proof, air tight doors before walking over to my desk and sitting down at my office phone. Picking it up, I dialed Alice's secure line, kicking my feet up on the desk as I cradled the phone on my shoulder.

"ALI!" I yelled, when she answered the phone. "Nice to talk to you too, Bella." Alice said with a laugh. "Sorry, Ali, I'm just a little jittery. I forgot to clear something with you." "The flight to Thailand tomorrow?" Alice said, laughing.

I stopped breathing. "H-h-h-how did you know ab-bout that?" I sputtered.

Alice laughed her usual tinkling laugh, "Oh, Bella, sweetie, you forget that I know everything. Well, that, and Jake called this afternoon around four thirty to talk about it. And then Edward's MC Emmett called to clear it with me too."

I sighed a sigh of relief, "Oh thank god. I totally forgot to call and thought that you were going to flip out when I called and told you that I needed you to get the plane ready for an eighteen hour flight." Alice laughed again, though this time, it was more of a giggle. When I listened harder, I heard someone else in the background, very close to the phone.

"You know Ali," I said, smiling, "I'm going to go." "O-o-o-okay Bella." Alice said, her voice becoming a little breathier. "Tell Jasper I said hi!" I said, before laughing and clicking off. I started laughing immediately after I hung up the phone, pulling myself out of my chair and unlocking the doors. Once Edward exited, I spun around to relock the doors, securing the airtight door in place, and ensuring that the disguising mechanism locked back into place.

"What was that about?" Edward asked, looking at me in confusion.

I explained the situation to him as I drained the pasta, having him remove the veggies while I shook the pasta back into the pot. Finishing up the pasta with a huge handful of cheese, I grabbed place settings and asked Edward to set the table.

After pouring the pasta into a serving bowl, grabbing a bottle of wine from the wine chiller, and grabbing two glasses in my hand, I walked out into the dining room, and was immediately floored.

Somehow, in the few minutes that I had been away, Edward had managed to find candles to light, and put on light classical music to accompany our dinner. Smiling warmly at him, I held my hand out, allowing him to take the two wine glasses from my grasp, watching as he placed them next to our filled water glasses. I placed the pasta on the table, walking over to the end of the table to uncork the wine, filling each of our glasses ¾ of the way before placing the bottle on the portable wine chiller I hadn't seen Edward snag from the freezer.

Edward saw that I was getting ready to sit, so he swooped up behind me and pulled my chair out, taking my hand and helping me down into my seat. I smiled up at him, blushing and laughing quietly when he pressed a kiss to my knuckles. Edward sat down beside me, and looked over at me, smiling. "Go ahead, Bella. Ladies first." Edward said, gesturing towards to food in front of us. I smiled, and laughed lightly as I spooned pasta onto my plate before passing the serving platter to Edward. "I feel like we should be in at least semi-formal wear. Somehow, jeans and a t-shirt, even if it **is**a The Black Keys t-shirt doesn't feel right for the setting."

Edward looked down, "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I just wanted to do something nice for you, especially since you agreed to let me stay here with you." "Oh, Edward," I said, reaching out and taking his hand in mine, "you didn't make me feel uncomfortable. I was just… saying." I laughed uncomfortably, before releasing his hand and taking a sip of wine.

Edward smiled at me, and we both began eating quietly. Edward groaned, looking over at me with a smile. "This is absolutely delicious, love. I cannot believe I haven't convinced you too cook for me before." Edward said, shoveling more food into his mouth. I laughed, "Well, technically, I cooked breakfast today." Edward looked up at me and smiled, "Sorry, love. Pancakes don't count. They were amazingly good, but this… this is just unbelievable."

I laughed again; this wasn't the first time that someone had praised my cooking, but it was the first time that it made me so uncomfortable. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate the comments when they came from Edward… it was more that I wanted him to start thinking of ways that he could…pay me back. I wanted to hear the complements fall from his lips over and over again. I wanted to please him.

And that scared the shit out of me, if I am being honest. My entire life, it had been about making other people happy before I finally stopped, that fateful night with Charlie, and decided to live my life the way that I wanted to. I don't regret that… I could never regret that. Well, I might regret the way that I went about acquiring my independence, but the results…the results I could never regret.

I am who I am because of what I did… because if what I said. I was sitting across this dining table from sexy as hell Edward Cullen because of the decision that I had made so many years ago.

But now, here I was, finding myself plagued with the almost overwhelming desire to please Edward. Not in a sexual way either, though that wasn't something that was far from my stream of consciousness at the time. I wanted to make him happy, I wanted to make him smile. I wanted to hear him laugh, and see his eyes light up in delight.

I didn't know where this new "eager to please" Bella came from, but I wanted to send her back.

_Is that possible?_

Shrugging internally, I continued to eat my pasta, listening to the quiet sounds of please that Edward was making.

About an hour later, we finished eating most of the pasta, and the entire bottle of wine, so we pushed my chair away from the table to begin cleaning up. Edward immediately jumped up, insisting that he clean up the mess from dinner, as he did so little to help. I just laughed, and told him that I was going to go put my pajamas while he tidied up.

I walked into my room, stripping off my clothes and tossing them in the hamper in my closet. Pulling on my Weezer shirt and the boxers from earlier, and pulling my socks back into place, I ran my fingers through my hair to loosen up my waves a little bit.

_Now what were we going to do? _

I needed to let the pasta digest before I even ATTEMPTED the sorbet I had made a few days ago. _Maybe we could watch a movie…_

Perfect.

Jumping in place a bit, I shook my limbs, trying to get myself to center and calm the hell down. Fingering my waves a bit more, I smiled at my reflection before walking back out of my room and down the hall into the living room. I could see Edward in the dining room from here, leaning over the table to blow out the candles, waving the smoke through the air so that it didn't set off any smoke alarms. He grabbed a handful of dishes and walked into the kitchen, coming back a few minutes later to grab the empty wine bottle.

I heard him drop it into the recycling, and turn on the water to, I assume, wash his hands, before he padded off to his own room. I didn't know if he was going to come back out that night, so I waited a minute, walking over to my DVD case to grab _Tommy Boy_ from the shelf, before silently walking down the hallway to his door.

Standing outside, I listening intently from any noise coming from inside when I heard him talking; "I don't know, Carlisle," he was saying, "I don't know if I can keep doing this. I'm… I'm falling for her."

I felt my heart swell at his words. He was… falling for me? How could it be? There was no way that this was –

"Of course I haven't told Tanya, Dad! Why would you even…" he laughed then, and it was a jovial, heartfelt sound.

_Damn this Tanya, bitch. _

But deep down, I guess that I always knew it. There was no way that he could be single, and no way that he would have been so willing to just jump into bed with me. He must have been missing the company of someone that he left behind in London.

And I now knew what her name was.

I crept back down the hall as I heard him hang up with his dad, plopping myself down on the couch, turning the DVD over and over in my hands.

I heard Edward's door open, and I threw the DVD down onto the table, getting it as far away from me as humanly possible.

"Hey, Bells…" Edward called into the hallway, "did you want to watch a movie tonight? So we can digest our food before we go ahead and dig into that sorbet you made?" Edward rounded the corner and saw the movie lying on the table. "You already picked one out?" he said, walking over to the table and picking it up. "And it is one of my favorites. You are the girl of my dreams." He said, flashing me a winning smile. Edward leaned down and kissed my forehead before walking over and popping the DVD into the player. He walked over, sat down on the couch, before lying down, pulling me with him so that I was lying on his chest, much like earlier when we were playing our little game.

_That's all this is… a game. Okay, Bella. Get yourself together. You and Edward are just friends. It doesn't matter how fucking attractive he is…_

I sighed, breathing in Edward's delicious scent, before relaxing into him and watching the movie. Every time that Edward laughed, his body shook against mine, reminding me of the many ways that his body had shaken when we were together.

The feel of his fingers running through my hair reminded me of how he used to pull my mouth to his, as he intertwined his fingers in my locks, the gentle tugging enough to drive me insane.

The way my head moved, ever so slightly, as he breathed reminded me of how Edward had pulled me up onto his chest afterwards, allowing me to snuggle against him. The way his skin felt against mine was something that I was never going to feel again, but it was something that I was definitely always going to remember.

We watched the rest of the movie without talking, laughing frequently, with Edward just holding me. I couldn't help but think that I had somehow misunderstood what I had heard him talking to his dad about earlier. There was no way that he was falling in love with someone else while he was sitting here holding me like there. No way that he could feel something so intense for someone else while we were interacting the way we were.

When the movie ended, Edward gave one last laugh, before turning over to face me.

We were laying on the couch, our bodies pressed together, which Edward continued to stare into my eyes and run his fingers through my hair. It looked like he was… looking for something. Almost like he was staring through me, staring **into** me in a way that no one had ever tried to do before. It was overwhelming, shaking me right down to the core. I almost couldn't take it.

As though he'd heard my internal monologue, Edward smiled, placing a kiss on my forehead, before rolling off the couch. "Sorbet?" he asked, smiling down at me. I grinned, and nodded and moved to get up before he pressed my shoulder back down into the couch. "Stay here. I'll get you dessert. We'll talk when I get back."

"More childhood stories?" I asked, laughing. Edward laughed heartily, "More childhood stories."

He came back a few minutes later, two very large bowls of sorbet in his hands. He held them both out, "Pick." he said, shaking the bowls at me. I smiled, plucking the right one from his hand, before sitting up at patting the seat next to me.

"Want to play a game?" he asked, looking at me mischievously. I immediately became suspicious of him. "What game?" I asked, eyeing him. Edward laughed, "Come on now, don't look at me that way! It's an innocent little game…" "Spit it out, Edward." I said, laughing.

"Okay. We take turns telling secrets." Edward said, smiling down at me. "And this time, I'll let you go first." He said, winking at me. I laughed out loud, shaking my head at him, "What do you mean, secrets?"

"It could be anything. A childhood story, secret thoughts about a certain male spy you work with…" I rolled my eyes, laughing at him, as he winked at me again, "anything. I just want us to know more about each other. And besides… I told you that I wanted to know everything about you Bella. I wasn't kidding."

I laughed, before taking a bite of sorbet, and tapping the end of my nose with the tip of the spoon. "Hmmm…." I said, trying to think of something to tell him. "Oh! I got one! Okay, once, when I was fifteen, I was up in Forks visiting Charlie for the summer. I went to First Beach to visit Jacob, but he was out hanging with his friends. I didn't want to go back to Forks because Charlie was at work, and I wasn't about to subject myself to unlimited time with a bunch of pubescent teenage boys. So, instead of calling Charlie and having him pick me back up, I went over to the cliffs where people usually go cliff diving."

I looked at Edward who looked like someone had bleached his skin. I laughed at his horrified expression before continuing.

"So I decided to jump. It was really stupid in retrospect, but it was also one of the best experiences of my life. The feel of the dive… the wind blowing through my hair, not knowing whether I was going to live or die… I can't even describe it to you. But I never told anyone. I thought that if I told someone, it would make what I did seem less… thrilling. Less "for me." But it didn't. It still feels the same. And I'm so thankful that it does. That, and I knew that if I told Jake, he would tell my dad… who would have killed me."

Edward stared at me in shock for a few seconds before shaking his head and laughing at me. "Only you, Bella Swan, would go jumping off a cliff like that. Most people go when there are **other people** around. What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't." I retorted, "But now it's your turn, so get on it." Edward smiled and began thinking about something to tell me. All I could think about was how cute he looked as he scratched his jaw, now covered in an amazingly sexy five o'clock shadow.

_Hello, I'm Bella's dignity. I jumped ship upon meeting Edward Cullen, and I'm going to make an ass of myself very soon. Is there anyway that I could return sometime in the immediate future? Please?_

Edward smiled at me. "Okay, you can't tell anyone." He said, looking over at me. I nodded my head, taking another bite of sorbet to control my smile. "I lost my virginity when I was fifteen to my seventeen year old friend, Tanya. She wanted to have a relationship but I didn't, but we're still friends. She's a great person… who happened to swipe my V-Card."

I stared at him. Just stared. I resisted the urge to yell, 'Is this the same Tanya that you were talking on the phone about?'

Thank god I have some semblance of self-control.

The game continued, back and forth, for what seemed like hours. As we told each other our secrets, and the stories from our childhood, I could feel us moving closer emotionally. That, and we were also physically moving closer.

By the end of the first hour, we had finished our sorbet, and I was lying on Edward's chest again, while he fingered through my hair.

It seemed to be a favorite position of ours.

The things the we told each other ranged from deep, to downright silly, but it didn't take away any of the significance of what was happening here. I, Bella Swan, was falling in love with Edward Cullen.

Once I admitted it to myself, I could feel my body start to freak out. If I was in love with him, why couldn't I **be** with him? It was all I'd wanted, all effing day. What was stopping me?

_We have to try and make this friendship work. We can't go into this sleeping together… Besides, it hasn't even been twenty-four hours since you slept together. Calm the fuck down._

It was finally my turn again, and I was struggling to think of something to say. I knew that if I didn't come up with something soon, I would probably end up blurting out that I was falling in love with him.

And we know how well that always works out.

So I decided to tell him something that I had never told anyone, not even Jake. This wasn't something like my cliff-diving story… it was much more personal.

"Before I left Forks to work for the CIA, Charlie and I had gotten into a huge fight." I said, feeling the tears start to accumulate in my eyes. I think Edward sensed to tension, because he wrapped his arms tightly around me, and turned on his side so we were facing each other, our eyes level.

"We had been talking about my departure for weeks. Every single time I brought it up, it turned into an argument. I wanted to leave, I knew that I needed to; Charlie, on the other hand, wanted me to stay. He didn't want me all the way across the country from **both** parents by myself. I don't know if it was because he didn't trust me, or he thought I was going to get into some sort of trouble… whatever, I guess it doesn't matter now." I let out a shaky sigh when I felt the first set of tears trickle down my cheeks.

Edward reached out to wipe the tears from my face, as I took in a breath to steel my nerves. "So the night before I was supposed to leave, Charlie and I got into a full blown fight. We were yelling back and forth, making idle threats… it was horrible. Charlie and I never fought, let alone like that. This type of fighting was reserved for Renée and me." Silent tears continued to trickle down my face, and Edward continued to wipe them away; I was glad that he wasn't stopping me, even though, judging by his expression, it was painful for him to watch my cry. I think that he knew I needed this.

"I did the worst thing that I could have done, Edward." I said, taking in a gasping breath. "I threw my mothers leaving words back at him. 'Let me go, Charlie. I can't build a life here, not like this. Just let me go.'… you should have seen the look on his face. It was like I had stabbed his straight through the heart. He just nodded his head, and walked up to his room, shutting the door quietly behind him. I left in the middle of the night that night… I left him a note apologizing on my bed, but I'm not sure he ever got it."

The silent tears then became full blown sobs. My body began to shake, and my face was covered in tears. Edward gathered me in his arms, and I pressed my face into his chest, breathing in his scent to try and calm myself down. It wasn't working. Edward pulled back, and ran his hands through my hair.

"Don't cry, love. Please, Bright Eyes, don't cry." Edward's hands were cupping my face, his thumbs wiping away the tears. He bent forward and placed a gentle kiss onto my forehead, before placing his forehead on mine. "Did you just call me Bright Eyes?" I whispered, smiling a watery smile at him. "Yeah, I guess I did." Edward said, pulling back and looking around nervously.

"Where did you get that from?" I asked, chuckling, sniffling, and wiping the remaining traces of tears from my skin. "Well," Edward said reaching out to catch some tears I'd missed, "I noticed how bright your eyes were when I met you that day in the dressing room. How… alive they were. I'd never met anyone with eyes like yours. I've been calling you Bright Eyes in my head every since. I didn't mean for it to slip out…"

"That's what he said." I said, my body rocking with laughter. Edward looked at me in disbelief, before saying, "Oh, you think that's funny?" and attacking my sides with his fingers.

I started screaming with laughter as he tickled me, squirming around, and attempting to get up. Somehow, Edward wound up hovering above me, his fingers tickling all across the skin of my abdomen. "Edward… Edward… get… off!" I said, laughing, "I'm… going… to… puke!" I continued laughing as Edward rolled off of me, bringing us back to "Position One" as I was going to refer to it; Edward on his back, his arm around me, while I was curled into his right side, my head on his chest.

Sighing, I snuggled closer into Edward, who gripped me tighter. "Thank you, Edward." I said, smiling as I tried to stifle a yawn. "No problem, Bright Eyes." Edward said, his fingers continuing their usual path through my hair. Sighing, I snuggled even closer, buried my face in his chest, and allowed myself to succumb to sleep.

I awoke with a start sometime later, in my own bed. It was dark outside, so I knew that I hadn't slept through the entire night. I leaned over to check my clock; one am. Perfect.

Kicking my covers off, I slid out of bed and went to the bathroom, washing my face, brushing my teeth, and otherwise getting ready to go back to sleep.

_The last thing I remember was falling asleep on Edward… wait, was he in my bed?_

I leaned my head back into my bedroom to check. Nope, no Edward.

Shaking my head, I walked back into the bathroom to clean myself up, running a brush through my hair a few time before I tied it back to wash my hair.

A few minutes later, I emerged from the bathroom, and was just getting back into bed when I heard noises coming from the hallway.

It sounded like someone talking, and of course, I immediately flipped. I got out of bed and walked over to the door, not even bothering to grab something to defend myself, as I was content with my fighting skills.

I crept out of my room, and stood outside the door just listening. Once I got a good idea of where the sound was coming from, I walked towards it. As I followed the sound, I realized that I was quietly approaching Edward's room. Shit.

I stood outside his room for a few minutes listening to him, trying to determine whether or not he was awake.

Once I determined that he was still sleeping, I crept into Edward's room. He was laying on his back in bed, his hands gripping the comforter around him, and saying, "I killed them! It's not okay, I killed them!"

I stood in the doorway, watching him for a few seconds, as he tossed and turned in his sleep, repeating the same thing over and over again. Eventually, he let out a strangled cry and then I realized… Edward was crying in his sleep.

Whatever he was talking about had racked him with so much guilt that he was crying in his sleep.

I didn't even think, I just walked over to Edward's bed, moving back the covers and sliding underneath. Laying on my back, I pulled Edward to me, holding him much like he held me on the couch. Edward's sniffling slowed, and the tears had stopped flowing from his closed eyes. Frowning, I reached up and wipe the tear trails away from his gorgeous face.

Edward sighed a sigh of… I'm assuming contentment, before burying his face in my neck and gripping my waist like it was his lifeline.

"I killed them… and now Bright Eyes is leaving me." He murmured in the saddest tone of voice I had ever heard. "Oh, Edward," I said, reaching down and running my fingers through his hair, "I'm right here, and I'm not leaving you."

I kept mumbling quiet reassurances and running my fingers through his soft, bronze locks, until I felt Edward slip into a deeper sleep, his words ceasing.

I allowed myself to relax back into Edward's bed, sighing as I felt the exhaustion from the day overwhelm me. Closing my eyes, I fell asleep with Edward pressed against me, my fingers wound in his hair.

_Talk about déjà vu._

I woke up the next morning when the comforter was ripped from my body.

My eyes shot open, and I realized that Edward was still pressed into my, still holding onto my waist, his face still pressed into my neck.

_Okay, so it wasn't Edward that ripped the blanket off…_

I looked up, over Edward and saw Alice standing at the end of the bed, the blanket in her hands.

"Bella and Edward." Alice said, her voice loud and authoritative. "Wake the fuck up. We have a plane to catch."

Edward groaned, burying his face closer into my neck. But I knew he was awake because his teeth began nipping at the skin of my neck. That, and I could feel his rather impressive erection making itself known against my thigh.

"I see you Edward. Get the hell up."

Edward laughed quietly against me skin before leaning up and whispering, "Is she always this loud?" I giggled, "Yes, always." I replied, running my fingers through his hair, before moving out from under him, rubbing my thigh up against his erection before completely moving out from under him.

Edward growled quietly, looking at me. I just winked, letting him know that I had done it on purpose.

"Alright, Alice, come sit in my bathroom with me while I take a shower."

Alice agreed, and we both traipsed out of Edward's room, leaving him to deal with his issues by himself.

"So what's the deal here, Bells?" Alice asked, wiggling her eyes at me.

I just sighed, shaking my head. "It's insanely complicated… I'll explain once I'm in the shower." I answered, as we walked into my room, and shutting the door behind us.

* * *

**Alright, so what did you think? Sorry I left it kind of cliffie… and sorry that it is a total filler.**

**Question of the Update:  
Do you want to see other POV's? If so, who's? Tell me in your review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello, all! Sorry that this chapter took soooo long to get out. With the end of school, the fact that I have MONO (yeah, I freaking know. What the hell, right? Ugh.), and adjusting to home made me take a little longer to get this chapter out than I would have liked.**

Sorry about that.

**Okay, so Chapter Thanks:  
1. Tyler Knott Gregson: I have used your inspiring haikus in this chapter (okay, just one, but I will use more...) If you guys want to check him out, go to www(dot)tylerknott(dot)com Want to read his haikus? Click search on the tool bar and type in haiku to the serach bar that appears. I'm serious, you'll fall in love with him.**

**2. Jack's Mannequin: Enough said.**

**3. Motrin: For allowing me to have enough sanity to type this right now.**

**4. IvoryAdulation (again) for updating her stories so I had something to do while I laid here like the useless lump I am.**

**Chapter Quote:**

**"Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship."**

** - Oscar Wilde**

**Things I Own: Countless containers of jello, because it's all that I can eat now. Dammit.  
Things I Don't: Anything written by SM. **

**Alright, without further ado! (Sorry the AN is annoyingly long) **

* * *

I walked into the shower, taking my clothes off and throwing them on the floor, before starting the water. I heard Alice jump up on the counter, and I imagined her kicking her feet like a small child.

"So," Alice said, a smile in her voice, "complicated you say? It seems pretty simple to me. He's already seduced you into sleeping with him. And you're falling for him."

I started to talk, but Alice cut me off. "Don't worry. He's falling for you too… if he's not already there."

That made me stop for a second.

_There was no way that Edward was falling for me… what about that other girl… unless… he was talking about me… No. No fucking way. There must be some other slag he's involved with._

"Alice." I said, my voice as dead and emotionless as I could make it. "I'm not falling for him. He was just having a bad dream, and he was sobbing in his sleep. I could hear it from all the way in my bedroom… I went to comfort him and ended up falling asleep. That's it."

"Whatever you say, Bells. Now, tell me every piece of this story… I know you're holding out on me."

I laughed at my feeble attempt to bypass the mental prowess that is Alice Brandon. She knew everything, no matter how hard you worked to hide it. It is why she is so damn good as what she does.

"Okay, where do you want me to start?" I asked, as I began washing my hair. "The party." Alice said decisively.

I launched into a full blown play by play of the party, the conversation in the car, the absolutely amazing sex… everything. "But we're just friends, Ali." I'd said when she started squealing after I finished telling her about the sex.

"Sure. Friends don't fuck like that Bella." Alice said. I could practically hear her eyes rolling.

I laughed, "We just needed to get the sexual tension out of our systems…" I said, not even believing myself as the words came out my mouth. Needless to say, I wasn't surprised when Alice laughed.

"Please!" She said, "You two are a walking advertisement for sexual tension. Everything either of you does illustrates attraction for the other. Besides, Bella," Alice said, tisking at me, "It's written all over your face."

"What is?" I asked, as I reached out to grab a towel from the rack.

"You are attracted to him, Bells. Why are you fighting it? Just let go." Alice said, her voice was soft, but I knew there was an order in her words. If I didn't give this thing with Edward a serious shot soon, Alice was going to string me up by my balls.

_Well… not that I had any. But still._

"I can't let go, Alice. We work together." I said, walking back into my room and standing in my closet. "Oh," Alice said, walking in behind me and throwing a bag I hadn't seen her holding at me, "How is that any different from Jasper and me?" She cocked a perfectly groomed eyebrow in my direction.

"AL!" I said, laughing, "You know damn well that it's completely different. Jasper works **for** you; I work **with** Edward. As a spy team!" I whispered the last part, laughing as I rolled my eyes.

"Okay," Alice conceded, "so it's a little different. But still, I think that you should go for it."

I rolled my eyes and muttered, "Of course you do."

I slipped on some underwear before dropping the towel and taking out whatever Alice had purchased for me to wear.

I pulled out the most gorgeous red, orange, and gold sarong, with matching gold Prada sandals. Damn Alice. She was always finding ways to spend money on me.

"I'm just going to write it off as a mission expense, Bella. Relax." Alice said, no doubt sensing my tension.

Sighing, I pulled the sarong on, making sure that it was knotted in all the right places, before slipping the sandals on, and fluffing my curls down my back. I spun around, holding my arms out, looking at Alice. "Well?" I asked, my voice, and expression, hesitant.

Alice looked stunned. "Go." She said, pointing at the full-length mirror I had set up in the corner of my closet. I sighed, rolled my eyes, and walked over to the mirror, closing my eyes so I couldn't see myself right away.

"Open your eyes, Bella." Alice said, laughing a little.

_Damn, she knew me too well._

I opened my eyes and was stunned by what I saw. "Holy fucking shit, is that me?" I said, laughter unintentionally bubbling out.

"Yep," Alice said, walking over and placing her hand on my shoulder, "you're one hot piece of ass, Bells. Now, go strike him dead." Alice winked at me, and shoved me out of the closet.

"Wait!" I shouted, planting my feet so that Alice couldn't shove me out of the room before I was ready. Alice just smiled, "Yes?"

"Before I go, two questions." I said, trying to get myself some time. Alice knew what I was up to, but she nodded, gesturing that I should go ahead. "One: you aren't coming with us to Thailand are you? And two: you and Jasper?" I asked, looking at her.

"To answer your first question," Alice began, looking at me dejectedly, "no, I am no longer going to Thailand with you. Jake and I talked about it last night, and we decided that it was a tad too conspicuous… even though I was just going to use the trip as an opportunity to take a vacation." Alice and I laughed, before I looked to her pointedly to answer my second query.

Alice smiled as she began to address the second question, and giggled a bit. "He slept over last night." Alice said, laughing.

"You guys had sex last night?" I said, incredulous. "Of course not, we just slept… he has a long day ahead of him; we're going shopping…" Alice said, looking at me. She pushed me out the door before finishing her statement, "We had sex all day yesterday and the day before. Now, go get'em killer!" Alice shoved me out of my room, in the direction of my living room, before walking down the other hall way so that she could slip out of the apartment.

I walked back into my room with a sigh, chuckling to myself and grabbing a gold clutch and a messenger bag I'd secretly stocked with sleep clothing off of my purse wall, before walking into the living room to find Edward.

Edward was sitting on the couch in khaki cargo shorts and a red button up, the red color of the shirt playing well with the bronze tones in his hair. When he heard me walk in, he looked up, his green eyes blazing into mine. _And these panties are ruined._

His shirt also, coincidentally, matched my dress. _Alice._

Smiling, I walked over to him, stooping to press a kiss to his forehead before gesturing for him to follow me into the office. I ran a quick device scan, before securing the room, and opening the gadget case.

"What are you looking for?" Edward asked, coming up behind me. I continued rummaging through the cabinet as I replied, "Just some stuff to take with us. We are going to Thailand for recon. I need to be prepped. You never know who you might come across in the field." I said, looking over my shoulder and smiling at him as I began plucking devices off the wall.

"What did you pick out?" Edward asked; at this point, he was so close to me, his hot breath tickled the hairs on my neck, causing me to shiver lightly. I spun around, holding out a small bag I'd taken off the wall, before walking over to the desk to get everything out.

"Twenty audio bugs, ten visual bugs, ten GPS locators, foreign phone, ten cell bugs, glasses camera, computer monitoring software, maps, a compass, some caltrops, two small guns, ammo, and air needles." I said, holding up everything, before putting everything back safely in it's holding container. Edward just looked at me.

"What are the air needles for?" he asked, staring at me. "In case I need to kill someone conspicuously." I answered, winking at him. Edward walked quickly to me, closing the five-foot gap between us in a step. Our breathing picked up as he stood there, his chest hitting mine, as he brought his hands up to cradle my face. My body began to tremble as we stood there; I was completely overcome with an almost wanton need for him.

Just then, Alice busted into the room, causing Edward and I to fly apart. "Come on bitches; you're going to Thailand!" she shouted, the laughter she was suppressing evident in her voice. I looked at Edward before taking a deep breath and stepping away, gesturing that he should walk ahead of me before shutting down the room.

Walking out, I saw Alice shove a bag into Edward's arms before pushing him out the door. She walked over to me with another bag in her hands, shoving it into my arms before flashing me a smile and pushing me out the door as well. "I packed this bag for you. Now, give me the gadgets. You are riding public trans, so I'm going to need to put this in an x-ray proof container. It will come up on the screen as a bag filled with basic travel crap. A book, a pillow… that kind of thing." Alice said.

I nodded, helping Alice stow everything away in the container. She shoved it down into my carry-on, zipping it up, before stuffing it into my arms and shoving me towards to door.

Thank god she'd just packed me a carry-on. If my travels had taught me anything, it was that carry-on was the way to go. Having to wait around an airport for my baggage, which may or may not have been tampered with, was torture, especially when on a time sensitive mission. And this mission was nothing if not time sensitive.

I laughed as Alice used all the strength she had to move me towards the door. When we got to the entrance, I spun around, wrapping my arms around her. "I'll call you as soon as I get back." I said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Alice kissed my cheek as well, quickly switching to kiss my opposite cheek before walking out the door ahead of me, waiting as I set security and bolted the locks.

Many of the locks on my door weren't actually visible locks, but were radio frequency sensitive, and opened when I passed the sensor over the locks. I even had one that was fingerprint sensitive.

_Hell yeah, I only worked with the best technology. Thank goodness I have Jake in my life._

I bid Alice adieu outside my apartment before getting into the elevator and heading down to the parking garage, where Edward was standing outside my car.

Reaching out, Edward took my bag from me and walked around the back of the car, waiting until I popped the trunk to gently place the bags inside, before walking back around to open my door for me. After helping me into the driver's seat, Edward brushed a kiss on my knuckles before walking around the front of the car to help himself in.

I put the car into drive, clicking through my iPod as I pulled out onto the street. Finally settling on Jack's Mannequin, I plugged my iPod into my car dock, and set the volume to a quiet background level.

_I've got my things; I'm good to go_

_You met me at the terminal_

_Just one more plane ride, and it's done_

_We stood like statues at the gate_

_Vacations come and gone too late_

_There's so much sun where I'm from_

_I had to give it away_

_Had to give you away._

Oh Jesus. Not this song. I loved it, but the foreshadowing was a little bit too much for me to handle right now.

_And we spent four days on an island at your family's old hotel_

_Sometimes perfection can be..._

_It can be perfect hell_

_Perfect..._

_Hours pass and she still counts the minutes_

_That I am not there_

_I swear I didn't mean for it to feel like this_

_Like every inch of me is bruised (bruised)_

_Don't fly fast_

_Oh pilot, can you help me?_

_Can you make this last?_

_This plane is all I've got, so keep it steady now_

_'Cause every inch you see is bruised_

I probably would be bruised after Edward was done with me. With the way that I already felt about him… there was no way that I was going to get out of this alive. At the very least, I was never going to be the same person again.

I was the kind of person that didn't get attached very easily… but when I did, the connection, for me, was there for life. Unless, of course, the other person did something so completely deplorable I would never be able to get over it. But Edward didn't seem like that type of person. I would have figured that out already.

_I lace my Chucks, I walk the aisle,_

_I take my pills_

_The babies cry..._

_All I hear is what's playing through the in-flight radio_

_Now every word of every song_

_I ever heard that made me want to stay_

_Is what's playing through the in-flight radio._

_And I, I am finally waking up_

Sighing as I pulled onto the highway, I chanced a look over at Edward. He was listening to the words, nodding his head quietly to the beat, his voice quietly humming along with the melody, as he looked out the window. The early morning sun was flashing in his eyes, making it look as though they were lit from within, and his hair was reflecting the golden tones cast in by the sun. God, he is beautiful.

_Hours pass and she still counts the minutes_

_That I am not there_

_I swear I didn't mean for it to feel like this_

_Like every inch of me is bruised (bruised)_

_Don't fly fast_

_Oh pilot, can you help me?_

_Can you make this last?_

_This plane is all I've got, so keep it steady now_

_'Cause every inch you see is bruised_

As I drove, I got to thinking. The words of Andrew McMahon floating through my ears were inspiring me. I only had now… I should do something about my feelings for Edward now… but we had only known each other for three days. There was no way that I could go into a full-fledged relationship with him based on some limited knowledge of him. But I also couldn't miss out on what had the potential to grow into something great.

_So read your books, but stay out late some nights (some nights)_

_And don't think that you can't stop by the bar_

_You haven't shown your face here since the bad news_

_Well, I'm here 'til close with fingers crossed_

_Each night 'cause your place isn't far_

_And hours pass..._

_Hours pass_

_She still counts the minutes_

_That I am not there_

_I swear I didn't mean for it to feel like this_

_Like every inch of me is bruised (bruised)_

_And don't fly fast_

_Oh pilot, can you help me?_

_Can you make this last?_

_This plane is all I've got, so keep it steady now_

_'Cause every inch you see is bruised_

_Bruised, bruised._

I sighed, allowing the playlist to play through, smiling as the upbeat lyrics filled my mind. At one point, during _Swim_, Edward had reached over, and placed his hand on top of mine on the gearshift.

I looked over at him, shocked that he was touching me, and smiled, before reaching my fingers up and intertwining them with his. Edward smiled, picking up my hand and kissing my knuckles, before placing it back down on the gearshift, his thumb rubbing over the place his lips as just been.

_Was it hot in here, or was it just me?_

I let the gentle motion of Edward's thumb moving across my skin calm me as I continued the drive to Baltimore/Washington International Airport.

We arrived about fifteen minutes later, parked the car in the long-term parking lot, before hopping on the next shuttle to our gate. "Who are we flying?" Edward asked. I looked down at the ticket, "Finnair." I answered, shoving the ticket back in my pocket. Edward chuckled, and stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. "That seems obscure." He said, his laughter shaking me slightly. I just shrugged, conveying to him that this was Alice's way of making our trip as inconspicuous as it could possibly be. Edward seemed to understand what I was getting at, because he hummed softly in my ear.

We stood in silence for a few moments, and I could feel Edward's eyes on me. I knew that he was trying to figure something out, but I had no idea where his head was. Suddenly, he turned his head so that he was facing my neck and whispered, "What's changed in your head, love?"

I sighed, knowing that I should have known that he would have sensed a change in me. I don't know how they train their officers (what the CIA called a spy) over at MI6, but the CIA sends you off to what we call the Farm.

The Farm consisted of a yearlong training program that was separated into two main parts: paramilitary training and tradecraft training. Paramilitary training was the best part of the Farm. Once you passed the Army's fitness test, you were allowed to enter the paramilitary training program, at the end of which, you became jump certified. It was definitely the peak of my training at the Farm. I mean hell, who doesn't love getting to jump out of planes… especially after you have been tortured with rope courses, mud pits, and obstacle courses for the past few weeks?

Tradecraft training taught you all about the ins and outs of becoming a spy. We learned how to recruit foreign agents, how to interact with people abroad, how to ensure that your mission was going off without a hitch… things like that.

It wasn't as fun as it sometimes sounded.

But, the training was invaluable, and I had used at least a piece of it every single day that I was on mission. Hell, it had even helped me when I was living the civilian life. You know, when I spent my time working on my cover.

God knows how MI6 trained their officers… I can only assume that their training is something similar to what I went through. Hopefully… because otherwise, I have no idea what I'm working with.

I looked over at Edward and smiled weakly at him. "I'm tired of trying to stay away from you, Edward." I said. Edward smiled at me, leaning forward to kiss my neck.

"That feels like my line, Bella." He said, chuckling. I slapped his chest, before sinking back against him, allowing my body to rest comfortably against his.

I felt Edward physically relax against me, pulling me tighter against him, as he turned his head again and placed his lips right at my ear. "I'm glad you feel that way." Edward said, "Because, if I'm being honest, Bright Eyes, I think you could be it for me." I felt as though the world should have stopped at his words. Every single person on the planet should have just disappeared for a few hours, and it would just be Edward and me. My head should have exploded. But instead, the shuttle bumped along to the international gate.

I stood, my back resting against his strong chest in a shocked silence the entire way.

Edward hoisted our bags over his shoulder as we got off the shuttle and began walking towards security. After handing our tickets to the first official, we approached the next security gate. Edward and I separated into two separate portals, stripping off our shoes and throwing them into the bin, along with our civilian cell phones and wallets, before throwing on our bags, laden with spy gear. The best part was that the security guards had no idea.

_God, I loved Jake. Damn, I say that a lot._

Edward and I passed through security unscathed, as I knew we would, before we walked over to one of the many restaurants that lined the inside of the airport. "I'm starving." Edward said, a large smile on his face, and he leaned back a bit and rubbed his non-existent gut. I just chuckled and nodded my head in agreement. "I need to text Jake though, to let him know that we got here safely." I said, hoping that Edward knew what I was getting at.

_I need to get this GPS locator turned on..._

I pulled out my civilian phone and texted Jake our usual code text message: "Game plan still on tonight?" We initially came up with it because the first letters of the first three words could mean GPS and on obviously indicated that he was to turn the device on. Whatever words we added after on didn't really matter. Just like the response from Jake didn't really matter, as long as it made sense with what I was publically doing that day just in case anyone was tracking me.

I got a message back from Jake a few minutes later: "Yep, I'm going to ask her tonight. :)" I smiled, pocketing the phone, before turning around to Edward.

I felt the jolt in my neck as I turned around, smiling to myself now that I knew I was being tracked. "Jake going to do it?" Edward asked, grinning at me knowingly. "Yep, the game plan is still on for tonight." I answered, lowering my eyes seductively, before bringing my eyes back to his. Edward just stared at me for a few seconds, the sexual tension running rampant between us.

"So, we have two hours before our flight… what do you want to do?" I asked, clearing my throat awkwardly. Edward smiled down at me before reaching over and taking my hand. "I really want to get some food and then walk around. We are going to be in a plane seat for eighteen hours… my legs need exercise." I chuckled, and gripped Edward's hand in mine before spinning us around towards the nearest restaurant and walking inside. I was immediately annoyed beyond all belief.

The tall, blonde, 'my legs are miles long, please fuck me' hostess was totally eye-sexing Edward. He didn't seem to notice, because he barely looked up from me as he told her that we were looking for a private table for two, his hand still clutching mine, as though it were the only thing keeping his feet on the ground.

This woman, whose nametag read 'Chloe' didn't seem to care.

_Get your eyes off of my man, bitch. I'll kill you! WAIT. My man? Oh shit…_

After leading us to our table, Edward slyly sipped the hostess a tip, before pulling my chair out from the table and seating himself across from me. He was trying to pay attention to the millions of emotions that were undoubtedly swirling across my features, but he was so hungry that he was having trouble thinking about anything else. "Get your food selected, Edward, and then I will talk to you about what's wrong." Edward smiled his thanks, before throwing open the menu and searching it rapidly.

His eyes scanned the menu; when I noticed that his eyes had stopped moving, he smiled, and slammed the menu shut, and placed it down next to his plate.

I knew what I wanted as well, but I was avoiding his gaze. I wasn't ready to tell him that I waned to gouge out the waitresses eyes for even so much as looking at him. Hell, I had just decided that I would be willing to pursue this… this thing that we had going. How could I possibly tell him I was already turning into a jealous beast?

I slowly shut the menu, placing it to the right of my plate, straightening my silverware before allowing my eyes to travel up to Edward's.

The bastard was grinning cheekily at me, his eyes filled with recognition for the situation in front of him.

"You were thinking about killing her, weren't you?" he asked, a light chuckle infiltrating his voice.

"No!" I lied; Edward knew I was lying the second the word left my mouth. My tone was too high, and I couldn't look him in the eye. Damn it. I was a trained spy. I should be better at this.

Edward just smiled my smile at me, before winking at me. "Don't you worry, Bright Eyes; I prefer brunettes."

My jaw dropped.

Edward smiled as I continued to sit there, staring at him, my mouth embarrassingly agape. I heard the waitress coming from behind me, and Edward reached over, taking his hand, and pushing my chin my up, bringing my lips back together. Edward just laughed as the waitress approached, not taking his eyes off of me as she greeted him, "Ready to order, sir?" Her voice was slick and smooth, the wanton lust evident in every word. She even had the audacity to lick her lips at him, dragging her tongue 'seductively' across her lips, while she stared him the hell down.

_I will kill her._

Edward never took his eyes from mine, as he gestured towards me, "You can address me after the lady has ordered. What would you like, love?" Edward winked at me, holding my gaze, as I saw the waitress turn her body slightly towards me from the corner of my vision. Our eyes remained locked as I stuttered through my order, and I laughed awkwardly, dropping my eyes seductively before returning them to his. "Okay…" the waitress said, her lack of comfort apparent in her tone, turning her body towards Edward again, "and for you?" Edward kept his eyes locked on mine as he gave her his order, picking up my menu, and placing it on top of his before reaching over to hand both menus to Chloe.

She smiled at us, before saying something about putting in our orders, and disappeared.

The second she left, I started to feel like I was going to catch on fire. I could feel Edward's eyes on me, more so than I could see them; it was as though he was staring straight through my skin, and into **ME**. He wasn't smiling cockily as me, he wasn't laughing, grinning, or even speaking.

We were both just sitting there, in a stunned, silent bliss.

"Tell me, Bella." Edward said, his words were quiet, but they ripped through me like a katana. The emotion behind them shocked me; it shouldn't have, because I was expecting my reaction once the conversation came up. But, for some reason, talking about my decision in regards to Edward was a little different than just telling myself I'd finally given in.

I knew that if I told Edward, he was definitely going to take advantage of his new freedoms… but I was so afraid that he would end up dropping… whatever this was at the end of the mission, and leaving me completely broken.

Because that was exactly what would happen.

I looked at Edward, and cleared my throat slightly, before bringing my hands onto the table; they were shaking slightly, and I prayed to the gods I didn't believe in to make them stop.

Edward noticed anyway, and reached over, taking my hands in his, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles. "Tell me, Bright Eyes." Edward said, smiling at me.

I smiled slightly at him, letting out a shaky breath. "So, I've been thinking about this thing between us…" I said, trying to avoid looking at him. "and I've " the last part bubbled out of my mouth, the words coming out quickly, as my hands started to shake in Edward's hands.

Edward sat looking at me, his eyes locked onto mine, his hands squeezing mine, to stop the shaking. I had no idea what he was thinking, no idea where his mind was… I hoped we were on the same page… I mean, I knew what he'd said, but that didn't mean that it eased my insecurity. If anything, it made me more worried that I would quite literally die when he undoubtedly got tired of this relationship.

_I wasn't a person with self-esteem issues, and I didn't often doubt myself… the only time I had any problems was when I was involved (or thinking about getting involved in) a serious relationship. Which made no sense, because they'd all worked so well in the past!_ I internally rolled my eyes at my monologue.

You know you're insane when you start being sarcastic when you're talking to yourself.

Good lord, help me.

Suddenly, Edward stood up, keeping my hands in his, and walked around the table, kneeling beside me. "Bella…" he whispered, the words set my heart on fire. The way he spoke them seemed more like a caress than speaking, his tongue rolling over the syllables with care and ease. He pulled his body up straighter in the squat, and gently placed his lips to mine.

His mouth was firm, yet soft and unassuming against mine; he didn't move to deepen the kiss, just left his mouth on mine, smiled after a moment before and pulled away before walking back to his seat.

I sat in stunned silence.

The waitress came and went, dropping our plates in front of us, asking if we needed anything else.

_Yeah… uhm, I think I'm having a heart attack. Can you fix that?_

Edward must have noticed my… weirdness, because before he started eating, he reached over the table, took my hand in his, and said, "Hey, it's alright, love. We have an eighteen-hour flight ahead of us. We can talk about the semantics of this then. Don't stress… we'll make it work. This is right."

I took a moment to digest his words before chuckling quietly at myself, and nodded at him.

Throughout the rest of the meal, Edward and I had returned to our usual selves. We laughed, talked, joked, and verbally knocked each other down. Every time I saw the waitress coming over out of the corner of my eye, I would steer the conversation towards something mushy and cute, and reach out to take Edward's hand in mine.

He knew exactly what I was doing, but he played right along. I think he secretly liked it anyway.

Once we had finished eating, and paying, Edward and I walked hand and hand throughout the airport, stopping every once and a while to buy small snacks to shove into my bag so we had something edible to eat on the plane. At one point, we were in a shop that sold little games and activities for kids, reminiscing over the things that we used to have as children, and talking about the things we used to do when our parents used to force us on long trips.

I told him about how Charlie and I used to play with MadLibs whenever we would make the long trips to Seattle when I would visit him over the summer. Because we both loved reading, writing, and puzzles, these were our favorite games to play. I would sit in the passenger seat in the cruiser, my little feet pulled up in the seat, with the pad resting on my knees. I would ask Charlie for words, and then I would read the final story out loud, we would dissolve into laughter like children. When I was younger, they were soft and innocent, the blanks filled with my childish scrawl, and words like "bunny rabbit." When I was older and began playing with my friends, the game quickly became the dirty mess that I secretly think it was meant to be.

Edward knew that talking about Charlie wasn't the easiest for me, and smiled lovingly at me, giving my cheek a quick kiss, before distracting me with a hilarious tale of his and Emmett's childhood habits.

The first time they went to Yellowstone was also their last; something about raw salmon, a baby bear, the trunk of Edward's parent's car, and state park officials managed to convince his parents that the boys couldn't be trusted with wildlife.

_If our kids are anything like the two of them were…_

Oh god. I really just thought that.

I mean the idea of having children with Edward didn't scare me. In fact, it made my heart beat faster, my palms sweat, and my mind start to race… in a good way. The only thing that was a little nerve racking was the fact that I was already ready to think about taking such a step with him.

_Yeah, we will not be talking about this on the plane ride. I just told him that I would date him… I don't need to go and tell him that I already have baby names picked out._

He snuck away from my side at one point in the shop, and by the time I realized that he was gone, he was back at my side, holding a bag by his side. "What's in the bag?" I asked, looking at him curiously, reaching for it.

Edward moved the bag out of reach, before shaking his head at me. "Nope, not until the plane." I pouted, but it was to no avail.

Edward just laughed, taking my hand in his as we walked to our gate.

We plopped down in a pair of seats near the door, and Edward pulled my feet into his lap, running his hands gently over my calf.

It should have freaked me out… but for some reason, it felt comfortable. It felt right. It was a blatant showing of affection in the middle of a hugely crowded public place, but I couldn't find it in me to care.

"This is actually insanely comfortable." I said, the blush spreading across my cheeks. Edward smiled at me, running his thumb across my cheekbone. "I'm comfortable too." He said, his gorgeous green eyes burning into mine.

_I want to kiss him. I need to kiss him._

It was as though he heard my thoughts.

His eyes flickered down to my lips, before flicking back up to mine. Slowly, so slowly, he leaned in until his mouth was centimeters from mine.

I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe. I could feel his breath hitting my lips, the sensation teasing me, making me absolutely **crave** him.

He reached his hand up, cupping the left side of my face, shielding most of my face from people that could be watching us. I brought my lower lip into my mouth, biting it nervously, allowing my eyes a moment to flick between his mouth and his eyes.

He ran his tongue over his bottom lip before leaning the rest of the way, bringing his mouth to mine.

I sighed softly, bringing his bottom lip between mine, nibbling on it gently. He smiled against my lips, curling his fingers back into my hair, and pulling me closer to him, his chest gently brushing up against mine.

_The things that I wanted to do to this man right now were not appropriate for public. Damn him and his trickery._

I smiled, and pulled back, staring into his eyes for a few seconds before reaching up to run my fingers through his hair.

"They're going to call us soo –"

I was cut off by the announcer: "Finnair flight 8642 to Bangkok is now boarding their VIP First Class passengers; please report to the gate. Again, Finnair flight 8642 to Bangkok is now boarding their VIP First Class passengers; please report to the gate."

I swung my legs off of Edward, and hopped up to my feet, reaching down to help Edward up. He chuckled at me, grabbing my bag from my hands and swinging it over his shoulder before grabbing his bag, taking my hand, and walking us over to the gate.

We showed our tickets to the woman, and walked onto the plane, throwing our overhead bags into storage, before I took my messenger bag and shoved it under my seat.

I walked in, taking the window seat, and sat down, followed by Edward, who took the aisle.

"I love flying first class." Edward said, reaching between us to move the seat partition up. "Two large seats, better food, no one to bother us…" Edward smiled wickedly at me, before spinning me in my seat, bringing my legs into his lap again, allowing me to rest my head on the wall behind me.

"Edward!" I shrieked, laughing as other people began filing onto the plane, "There is no way the flight attendants are going to let me sit like this the whole time." Edward just smiled, leaned over and gave me a soft kiss. "Don't fret, love. They won't say a damn word."

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop the warm smile that was spreading across my face.

Edward winked, before reaching around me and said, "You know what the best thing about these seats is?" I shot him a questioning look, and Edward flipped a switch settled on the armrest I was leaning on.

I yelped as the seat started moving down, all the way down, and a footrest began moving up. "It makes a bed!" I said, surprised. I started laughing, "Does yours do that too?" Edward nodded and moved his back a bit to prove a point.

"Even better…" Edward said, his face taking on a wicked smile. He reached under his seat and pulled out what looked like a shower curtain. "This goes around us. People can see our outlines, so they are able to tell if we are doing anything we shouldn't be doing, but we get a little bit of privacy."

The dirty thoughts began flooding my brain. I started thinking about things we could do without getting in trouble, how we could do… other things and not get caught, how amazing it would be to fall asleep in Edward's arms.

Edward smiled at me, pulled my seat up a bit, leaving our seats reclined just enough to let us rest comfortably in our seats. He smiled, pulled me into his lap, and scooted over into my seat, leaning half on his back against the wall, the other half against my seat.

He settled me down between his legs, and bent his legs at the knees, wrapping his arms around my middle and pulling me against him.

"_When I look at you_

_and when my hands find your skin,_

_can you feel my love?"_

He whispered the haiku in my ear, and I felt my body come alive at the words. "Where did you hear that?" I asked, leaning my head back onto his shoulder so I could look at him. "Tyler Knott Gregson wrote it. I read his blog every single day." Edward said, smiling down at me.

I grinned, lifting my body just a bit to press a kiss to his lips. "It's lovely, Edward. It's almost as sweet as if you had written it…" I said, sarcastically, winking at him to let him know that I was joking.

He growled quietly, his chest rumbling against me, and nibbled my neck. "Check yourself, Swan." He said, his teeth scraping across my skin.

I laughed, swatting at him. Just then, a flight attendant, a tall blonde guy about my age, walked over to us.

"Hi, I'm Mike, and I'll be the VIP Flight Attendant for this trip. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to you, and let you know that, while you are able to sit in any manner you like during the flight, we insist that you sit in your own seats for take off and landing."

Edward smiled at him, tightening his hands around my middle, squeezing me to him; "Of course," he said, his smile gorgeous, "now, what about the sleep partition? We wanted to get to sleep right after take off to get acclimated to the time change." Edward's fingers began tracing shapes on my abdomen, and I nearly let him have his way with me right in front of the entire plane.

"You can put it up as soon as the plane is in the air. If the seatbelt sign is still lit up, just alert me, and I will put it up for you." Mike smiled at Edward and I, before reaching to grab something out of his pocket. "These are meal cards, if you could just check off what meals you would like to receive, and give it to me whenever possible, I would appreciate it."

Edward plucked a pen from my back pocket, scanned the list, and checked off whatever he wanted. "Same as mine, love?" he asked, holding out his list so that I could see it. "Sounds good." I said, smiling at him. He quickly checked off the selections and handed it back to Mike, who nodded his thanks and walked off to give cards to the other First Class VIPs.

We heard the overhead system click on, and a voice of a woman I'm assuming to be another flight attendant came on; "The plane is fully loaded, and we will be pulling onto the Tarmac in a moment, so please return your seats into their fully upright position, buckle your seat belts, and put trays in their upright and locked position."

I sighed, moving out of Edward's lap and into his seat, pulling both our seats back up into the right position.

I saw Edward buckling his seat belt as the plane started to move, but I made no move to buckle mine. I merely moved the belt so that it wasn't dangling in the aisle, and shoved the ends under my thighs.

"You don't buckle your belt?" Edward asked, taking my hand in his. "Nope," I said, a smile on my face, "never have, never will." "And why's that?" Edward asked me, grinning like he was about to win some sort of contest. "Because if they plane is going to crash and catch fire going 600 miles an hour, I'm going to die either way. Besides, I hate seatbelts."

Edward just laughed and squeezed my thigh as we pulled onto the runway. We sat in silence until the plane took off, and was leveled off in the sky.

"Finally." Edward said under his breath, reaching up to hit Mike's alert button, and taking his shoes, and mine, and shoving them into a pocket under his seat. Mike came over, and hung up the curtain handed us two blankets and two pillows, and Edward leaned back our seats. "Enjoy your rest. If you are not awake by the time your first marked meal is served, would you like me to wake you?" "No; stop by before and check our status before serving, please." Mike nodded, shut the curtain, and left us to ourselves.

Edward took his blanket, shoved it down in the crack between our seats and smoothed it out so we would have something nicer to lay on, before turning on his side and pulling me to him.

"Before we do anything," Edward whispered, reaching his hand up to brush away so wayward strands of hair that had fallen into my eyes and tangle his fingers into my hair, "I want to talk to you."

"OH thank goodness!" I sighed, unable to control my relief.

I had been worried that he was just going to take this new change of heart for what it seemed like: an okay for the two of us to engage in a casual hookup. But that wasn't what I wanted at all. I wanted something deeper… something real. Because that was what I felt for Edward: something deep and real.

Don't get me wrong… I was scared as shit. I had never ad feelings like this for someone before, not even for the men that I had dated for long, extended periods of time.

And my biggest concern about all my old relationships didn't exist here: Edward already knew what I did for a living. I didn't have to hide anything from him, didn't have to pretend… I would have to talk about the "sleeping with targets" thing with my bosses at the CIA because it was sure to come up in my future missions. I hated it when it happened, but when I was sent on a mission like this, I usually ended up sleeping with someone.

I've found that it's easier to convince men to work with you after you've just made them cum.

Edward smiled and placed a kiss on my lips before gesturing towards me, "You should go first." He said, "Ask me anything you want to know."

I immediately became nervous. I wanted to ask Edward about why he cried in his sleep… and I refused to ask him that right now. It would tire the both of us out, and we would probably never get to the other conversations that we needed to have. So I smiled, shook my head and said, "Nice try, doll. You go first." Edward just chuckled, before securing his arms around my waist and looking deeply into my eyes.

"What made you change your mind?" he asked, his words sincere. I was so confident in my feelings for him, that I was able to hold eye contact the whole time as I answered.

"I thought about what was keeping me back… and it was stupid. I didn't want to pursue anything with you because I was worried that it would ruin my professional career, it would conflict with the mission… a bunch of stupid things that I never should have been thinking about. When I think about you, when I hear you, see you, smell you, touch you… I am overwhelmed with the most fantastic emotion I've even been allowed to take a part in. I realized that the parts of myself that I usually hide don't need to be hidden here. I realized that I wanted you to know everything about me… like you said you wanted. And I actually believed that you were telling the truth." I sighed, shutting my eyes for a second and taking a deep centering breath.

When I opened my eyes, Edward's were on fire. It took all the self-control in the world to finish what I was saying.

"I think that what we have is real; that it could turn into something that this world has never seen. I'm falling for you Edward; hard." I chuckled awkwardly, reaching a hand up to run it through his hair, before leaning up to kiss his neck a couple of times.

Edward groaned before pulling back a bit and looking at me. "You really feel that way? You really think that this could… go the distance? You want this too?"

He was beside himself.

"Of course I want this, Edward. I wanted this from the second I actually started getting to know you. At first, I thought you were just a hot piece of ass, which you are, but you are also so much more than that." He gave me a look that indicated that I should continue and I stifled a laugh.

"You're insanely intelligent, compassionate, quick-witted, hysterical, loving, you care about your family, and the fact that you are almost disturbingly rich doesn't seem to affect you at all. You are able to see me for who I really am, and you know what to say and what to do to make me feel like everything is going to be okay. I feel safe when I'm with you… I feel… whole. And that's something that I have **yet** to experience in my life."

Edward's face broke into a heart-breaking smile and he pulled me so tightly against him I thought I was going to suffocate.

"I feel the same way, Bella. The exact same way. Do you know what it feels like to know that someone you've been telling your parents about feels the same way about you? What it feels like to know that the person that you are thinking could be THE ONE has told you that she feels the same way?"

I smiled, "I think I have an idea…"

Edward chuckled quietly, before leaning over and beginning an assault on my neck. His lips were tugging and pulling at my skin, and though the feeling was completely overwhelming, and making me want to do extremely naughty things to him, I knew that I needed to talk to him.

"Edward… I need… I need to talk… to talk to you." I somehow managed to get out, despite the fact that he was now sucking on my shoulder, definitely leaving me a mark.

_Leave a mark. Mark me._

_Holy shit… who knew I was into a little S/M shit? Hmmm… we will explore that more._

Edward grunted against my skin, before pulling my ear lobe between his teeth. He nibbled for a few seconds, before I heard his husky voice in my ear.

"After? I need you love, I need you right now."

Now, who was I to argue with his very convincing logic?

My sigh, and the fact that I had now wrapped my fingers into his hair and pulled him roughly against me, must have signaled him to the fact that I had decided to give in.

He continued to attack my neck before whispering, "Bella… I need you to get your panties off without sitting up. I have to do the same, but I want you to lay facing me."

I moaned quietly, pressing my face into his shoulder to silence the sound.

"That's another thing," Edward said, pulling my face up and putting his mouth on mine in a searing kiss, "no. Noises."

My entire body shivered at the tone in his voice, and I could just imagine what it would be like if we were going to be having this kind of dominant sex somewhere where I was allowed to yell.

_Oh, I cannot WAIT for that._

I shimmied out of my panties, folding them, and handing them to Edward so that he could discretely place them in the basket with our shoes.

_Lying bottomless on an airplane seat just feels wrong._

Edward had managed to pull his pants off as well, and I noticed that he had a foil wrapper between his teeth. "I'm on the…" I started, but Edward just shook his head at me. "I know, it's not that. I just don't need to worry about clean up with these. I'll just put it in a Ziploc or something." I nodded, and smiled at him, reaching back to pull his mouth to mine.

As we kissed, he pulled his body so that it was closer to mine, his impossibly hard erection stabbing against my thigh. I nearly moaned at the contact, but I knew better than that, as most people on the plane were still up, and instead reached between us to stroke him lightly.

Edward began moving my dress up, before swooping down, and plunging his fingers in my folds, and my entire body was overcome with pleasure. I was physically shaking with the restraint it required to keep from crying out.

_This is going to be one of the best orgasms of my life._

Edward ripped open the foil package quietly, and rolled the condom onto himself; for once, I was grateful that we didn't take a lot of time on foreplay.

_For once? We've only ever had sex one other time…_

Edward took his hand, and wrapped it around my upper thigh, lifting it, and hitching it around his hip. The move wouldn't draw attention from the outside, as it could have very easily have been my arm going around his waist…

At least, that's what I was hoping.

Edward grabbed my face in his hands as he pushed himself into me, kissing me to silence the sounds that we both would have otherwise made.

The feel of him inside me was exquisite. As though I would have expected anything else.

We both knew that we needed to finish quickly, so he began thrusting as deeply and quickly as he could, while still remaining absolutely silent.

The feeling of his hot, sweaty body against mine was even better than I remembered.

As he thrust, I shoved my hands up his shirt, tracing my fingers over his muscles, and even stopping to tweak his nipples, watching his face for a reaction.

_I want to lick every inch of his skin._

Edward soon returned the favor, reaching behind me to unhitch my bra, and shove his fingers under the fabric. He pulled out his fingers, and ran them over my clit for a moment, making me arch against him and seep juices out onto his hand.

_Thank god we put that blanket down._

He soon slid his hand back up under my dress, using my juices to moisten my nipples; his now slick fingers were tweaking and pulling at them, driving me absolutely mad.

I could feel my stomach begin to tighten, and I knew that my release was going to be here very soon; but I could tell from the look on Edward's face that he was going to finish before me.

And that worried him.

He brought his hand out of my dress so quickly I couldn't see it, immediately working my clit with his talented fingers.

"Cum for me, Bella. Please, cum for me. I want to see that fucking sexy look you get, I want to feel your pussy clamp down on my and milk my cock. Come on, Bella… cum for me…"

That did it for me. Dirty talking Edward was someone that needed to make a daily appearance. He could get all the ass from me he wanted, as long as he promised to talk to me like that every day for the rest of our lives.

I felt myself clamp down on Edward, my back arching, and my mouth opening in a silent cry. I felt my lungs working up a sound, so I pulled my body tightly against him, sinking my teeth into his shoulder.

My orgasm spurned Edward's.

As I sunk my teeth into his shoulder, he bit mine, his fingers grabbing so tightly onto my hips, I knew that I was going to have bruises. But I didn't care. I needed this moment with Edward to last, and last, and last…

Once our bodies rode out their respective orgasms, we collapsed against each other, desperately trying to control the erratic breathing that was threatening to overtake us.

I sat up and pulled out my messenger bag, pulling out the pair of sleep sweats Edward had bought at one of the stores in the airport. I pulled out my outfit as well, sitting the shirt and pants on my lap, contemplating how to best pull them on without causing a scene.

I handed Edward his sweats, before untying my dress, pulling on a t-shirt I had stolen from Edward's room this morning, and the gray pair of "Baltimore Marathon" sweats I had stashed in my pack when Alice wasn't looking.

There was no way that she would have let me out of the house with a pair of sweatpants at my immediate disposal.

I yawned, untying the dress, allowing my body to fall out of it, shimmying it down my body as discretely as possible.

I pulled the t-shirt over my head like a sweat shirt, and laid back, pulling my sweat pants on with an amount of skill I wasn't aware I had.

I rolled away slightly, allowing Edward enough room to pull his sweats on, and tie off/store the condom for later disposal.

Once we returned to our fully clothed state, Edward laid down on his back, pulling me against his chest, allowing my to rest my head in the crook of his neck, where he knew I liked it best.

"Okay, now what did you need to speak about, Bella?" Edward asked, laughing lightly. I frowned, reaching up to push back the hair that had fallen into his eyes and stuck to the sheen of sweat that had emerged after our… activities.

"It's not pleasant, Edward. If you don't want to talk about it, I understand. But I need you to know that I need to understand this about you. It would kill me not to know."

Edward looked nervous, as he should. He had no idea what my crazy ass was talking about, and he knew that he probably wouldn't like it once I told him what I was talking about. But he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

"Whatever it is, Bright Eyes, I know that we need to talk about it. And I would tell you and give you anything that you ever asked for." I smiled half-heartedly at him, before snuggling closer to him and running my fingertips over his chest.

"Edward… uhm, why do you cry in your sleep? What happened to you?"

* * *

**REMEMBER, I LOVE REVIEWS!**

**Two Questions for you this time:**

**1. What do you think Edward's issue is?**

**2. What do you want to see happen in Thailand?**

**Thanks lovelies! Can't wait to hear from you.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! Surprised to see me again so soon? Yeah, me too. I felt badly about leaving you with SUCH a cliffie last time. So here's your answer!**

**Oh! And to everyone who's been reviewing: _Thank you. I really, really appreciate it._**

**Quote:**

**"Have no fear of perfection - you'll never reach it." - Salvador Dali**

**Things I Own: iPhone 3G. But I want an iPhone 4. Have you seen those? AHHHH!**

**Things I Don't: What SM owns. Duh.**

* * *

Edward looked at me, several emotions dancing across his features, not the least of which was heartbreak. His eyes were practically swimming with emotion, but he continued to lay there, his eyes on mine, deeply breathing, as though he was trying to center himself.

"Bella, love…" Edward started to say, his voice breaking slightly, letting me know just how deeply this affected him.

I didn't want to see Edward hurting like this… I didn't want to see him hurting at all, so to see him hurt so deeply… hurt me. It was weird, that sensation. I've never had someone else's pain affect me so deeply. I've never wanted to do anything that I could to take away their pain. I would sacrifice myself if I knew that Edward would feel better about this… I would do anything… and that scared me, but I knew that it meant I was finally growing up.

I grabbed Edward's arm and turned him on his side so that he was facing me, replacing his arm with a pillow, and moving both his arms around my waist. "I have you right here, Edward. Whatever happened to you… I need you to know that I won't leave you. I need you to talk to me, love. Please."

I kept my voice soft, reaching up to run my fingers softly through his hair. I scratched his head and I could see him relax under my touch. Perfect.

He looked down at me, studying my face for a few seconds before swiftly bringing my mouth to his. He kissed me with so much emotion, so much effort, that I was afraid this conversation was going to turn into another round of sex.

I probably wouldn't have complained, but I knew that we needed to have this conversation. It was going to hurt, but we needed to talk about it. Otherwise… I didn't know what I would do about this thing with Edward…

It hurt me to even think about it, but I knew that I would probably have to end this 'relationship' with him if he wasn't willing to talk about it. It wasn't because I couldn't handle the fact that he was keeping secrets, not because I was pissed off that he wouldn't let me into his life. It was the fact that he was going to hide something that affected him so deeply. I had told him everything… well, except about the tattoo, but he had already asked about that. I promised to have that discussion with him. But it wasn't something that deeply affected me. But I'd told him about Charlie… he knew the pain I'd lived through, and he'd helped me. But I couldn't stick around in a relationship where I was going to be in pain all the time… I couldn't wake up to the sound of Edward's sobs again and again… it would kill me.

"Okay." Edward said, suddenly breaking the kiss, "Sorry, love… I… I needed to do that. I'm afraid that will be the last time you let me touch you." His eyes were truly pained, as though he actually believed it.

"Baby! No, no, no. I would never, ever, do something like that to you. But I need you to talk to me." I said, my heart breaking at his words. I leaned up, placed a single, sure kiss on his lips, before pulling back. I stared into his eyes for a few seconds before smiling a small smile at him.

"You can tell me anything you know." I whispered. He nodded, placing his forehead on mine for a second and taking a deep breath. He pulled away, his eyes sad, but sure. He was going to tell me.

"It's really hard for me to talk about, and I will understand if you don't want to be with me after I tell you. I know you say you'll stay with me, and I want to believe you… but you don't know what I've done." Edward said, his voice was soft and pained, and was ripping me right through to the core.

I knew that telling him otherwise wouldn't have a huge impact on his thinking, so I continued to lay there, my hands running through his hair.

Edward took one last deep breath, before beginning his story. "You may have heard me talk about a girl named Tanya… she's one of my very best friends… despite what I did." He swallowed roughly, tightening his grip on my waist.

"I worked with her husband, John Denali, at my cover job. I'm an emergency room doctor and John worked with me on a lot of my shifts. We became close friends, and I was especially glad to get to know him because I was so close to Tanya. They had twins… seven years ago now, and they loved them to death. George and Emily were perfect. They were quiet, sweet, loving, adorable… everything that Tanya and John were. They were the perfect combination of the two of them, and everyone who met them immediately fell in love with them."

Edward took a deep shaking breath, pulling me closely for just a moment. "One night, both the twins came down with something really bad. No one knew what it was. We tried for hours to figure out what they had; we gave them fluids, tests, medications… just when we thought we had it figured out, something else went wrong. Before we knew what was happening, both twins went into heart failure. We scrambled, tried to resuscitate them… nothing worked…" Edward now had silent tears rolling down his cheeks.

I reached up, wiped his tears, kissing away the ones I'd missed. I knew that this was good for him though, so I didn't try to stop him.

"I lost them. Both kids, lost them, right on the table. When they performed an autopsy, we discovered that both kids had a small hole in their hearts; a congenital heart defect. We could have caught it had we just done the right tests… but we didn't. And I killed both of Tanya's kids because of it."

Edward was taking silent, gasping breaths, his body going into shock. "Edward, love, come here." I said, my voice quiet, but forceful and loving. I wrapped my arms around his large body, pulling him into me. He buried his face into my hair, the hot tears rolling from his eyes falling on my neck, dampening my skin.

My eyes began to moisten with my own tears, but I knew that I couldn't cry; I needed to be strong for Edward, I needed to be here for him.

His body shook against mine, and I rubbed my hands across his skin, trying with everything I had to soothe him.

I couldn't stand to see him like this… his heart clearly broken with the weight of the things that had happened to him in his past. I wanted to be able to go back in time, and tell him what was going to happen… tell him what was wrong with the kids, so that he could fix them, and he would never have to experience this pain.

But I couldn't. As much as I wished that I could, it would never happen… and I knew that, while the death of a child is exceedingly cruel and difficult to deal with, everything did happen for a reason. I was having a hard time finding a reason, but I'm sure that there had to be a reason.

Though, that was probably just my overly logical brain trying to make sense of something that was impossible to make sense of.

"It's okay, love." I whispered, kissing his hair, running my fingers lightly through his locks. "It's okay; it wasn't your fault. It wasn't your fault. This could have happened to anyone."

I felt Edward's breathing slow down, and his body stopped shaking. He leaned back a bit, looking into my eyes before finishing his story. "Tanya said the same thing; she and John told me that I did everything that I could do… that no one had ever caught it in any of the doctors appointments they had been too… how could I have been expected to catch it in such a short time, you know? But that didn't help with the guilt… that doesn't help with the guilt. Neither John nor Tanya holds this against me, and I'm still very close to them. I felt horrible because I pulled away from them a bit after the children died. But, again, I pulled away from everyone."

My heart hurt for him, it really did. I couldn't imagine Edward pulling away from everyone, living life by himself, because he was so upset with something that he thought that he needed to take the blame for.

I was just glad that Tanya and John didn't blame him for what happened; I may have needed to go to England and seriously kick some ass, otherwise. And I would have kicked both their asses. I'm not a trained spy for nothing.

"But eventually, I realized that I was being stupid… and I went to be with John and Tanya. They had lost their kids. Their KIDS, Bella. I can't even imagine the kind of pain that they went through. The first time I went there, I apologized for like ten straight minutes, and started sobbing. It was a mess. All three of us were crying. But eventually, it got easier. The cloud that hung over our heads started to dissipate, and it got to the point where we are able to talk about the children openly."

I smiled, running my hands through his hair encouragingly.

"When I was talking to my dad a couple of days ago, I told him that I was falling for you. He asked me if I had talked to Tanya recently, and I thought he was asking if I had told him about you. Really, he had just found out that she was pregnant. She is getting a second chance to have kids. And I'm so happy for her… but it brought back some bad feelings for me. I'm happy for them, so happy for them, but it threw me for a total loop. I tried to hide it from you during the day, and I think I did a pretty good job…" he smiled lightly at me, and the sight made my heart swell.

"Yeah, I had no idea…" I said, upset that I didn't know that he was struggling with such intense feelings. I knew that there was no use in fretting about the fact that I didn't know that he was upset. He was blatantly hiding it from me. There was no way that I could have done anything.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about this, Bella. But you have to understand that this is so difficult for me to talk about, and I wasn't ready to share it. Especially after I found out that they were going to be having kids again… it just didn't feel right. I wanted to tell you, I did. And I'm glad I talked to you about it. I just needed my time. You aren't cross with me, are you?" he asked, his eyes pleading.

I let my eyes wander his face while I responded, "Absolutely not, Edward. How could I be upset with you? I just need to know that you are okay. That's all I want… your happiness."

"One more thing, Bella." Edward asked, his eyes now once again full of the life that I was so fond of.

"Anything, Edward." I answered, my voice a little too reverent for my liking. "Be my girlfriend?" He asked, sucking his lip into his mouth nervously. "Of course, I'll be your girlfriend, Edward." I said, smiling at him.

He smiled widely at me, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me close to him. We laid that way for a bit before we both started to yawn simultaneously into the other's neck. We chuckled slightly, but pulled apart.

I laid on my back, holding my arms out to him, indicating that he should lie like he had that night I had found him in his room. He smiled gratefully at me, rolling into me, burying his face in my neck, and wrapping his arms around me.

It felt so great to feel like he needed me to protect him… to hold him. So I smiled, wrapped my arms around his waist, and whispered, "Goodnight, boyfriend" before I fell into a deep, uninterrupted sleep.

I woke up to soft kisses trailing their way across my neck. I smiled, arching my neck into Edward's mouth, and I felt him chuckle against my skin. "Bella…" he whispered, his hot breath teasing my skin, making the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

"Open your eyes, love." Edward said, the smile heavy in his voice. I shook my head, and Edward laughed out loud. "I'll tell you what is in the bag from the toy store." He said, smiling.

This, of course, was something of interest to me… not that Edward kissing me wasn't. I just really wanted to know what was in that damn bag.

I opened one eye and peeked at him. "What's in the bag?" I asked, my voice still scratchy from sleep. Edward laughed, reached down and pulled me up into a sitting position. I grumbled at him, but he just ignored me.

Edward took our blankets and pillows, moved them to the floor in front of us, and pulled out seats most of the way up. I continued to grumble, but he just laughed, kissed my cheek, and ignored me some more.

He picked me up and placed me in the window seat, leaning my back against the wall and pulling my legs into his lap, like we had been sitting when we had first gotten on the plane. He reached over and moved the curtain over a bit, so that we could see out into the aisle. I didn't really want to see other people. I really just wanted to pretend that it was just Edward and I on our own plane… next time, we were travelling in Alice's plane. Screw the CIA.

"Has Mike been by with dinner, yet?" I asked, my stomach growling a little. "Nope, he should be by soon. Why don't you go wash up? I've already been…" he said. "You left without waking me?" I said, feigning anger. "I'm sorry, love, I…" I laughed, and kissed him swiftly before popping up out of my seat, "Don't worry, I'm not cross. I'm just messing with you."

Edward grabbed my sides, tickling me slightly, and I wiggled out of his grasp and into the aisle, walking over to the bathroom.

After going to the bathroom and washing up, I walked back to our seats, and sat down next to Edward who was holding two plates, and had a bag tucked into his side.

"Your food, love." Edward said, kissing my cheek as he handed me the plate before pulling my legs onto his lap again. I chuckled, but began eating.

We talked and ate, laughing and joking with each other and though I hadn't forced Edward to lie out his painful past for me in the middle of a freaking airplane.

We finished our food and Mike came by to pick up our plates, letting us know that food wouldn't be served again, as we were landing at six, and that if we were going to want snacks, we should let him know now so he could "steal us some."

Edward shot him a murderous look, but I just laughed and told him that we would really appreciate it, and Mike scampered off.

"God," Edward muttered, "could he have been any more indecent?" I looked at him and began laughing. "What are you talking about?" I asked, smiling at him. Edward looked at me. "Are you serious? He is totally trying to get into your pants. I won't have that." I started laughing and I reached over, taking Edward's hands in mine.

"Don't be crazy." I said, smiling at him, "I'm with you. You're mine. I'm yours." I said, my eyes burning into his. "Damn right." Edward said, his voice rough, and he took my face between his hands and kissed me.

Blood rushed to my head, and I couldn't think. I could barely breath. All I could do was think about Edward, kiss Edward, feel Edward, want Edward… Edward, Edward, Edward. It was so easy to get carried away with him when I was centered on him like this. I wasn't complaining, but still.

He ran his tongue along my lip, asking for entrance. _As if he needed to ask, anymore._

I opened my mouth, allowing him to explore my mouth, his hot tongue tracing patterns on mine. I rolled my tongue over his, moving into his mouth, taking the opportunity to explore him for a bit.

It was then that I heard someone (I assumed to be Mike) clearing his throat. I took my tongue out of Edward's mouth, blushing bright scarlet, and pulled away from him slowly. Edward looked pleased with himself, and Mike just looked uncomfortable.

"Sorry, Mike. We got a little… carried away. But thank you for getting us food. I really, really appreciate it." I batted my eyelashes at him, hoping that it would make him feel a little better for walking in on our tongue fest.

_I was going to kill Edward._

Mike left, shutting the curtain behind him, and Edward started giggling quietly. I shot him a disapproving look, and slapped his chest. "You knew he was coming, didn't you?" I asked, looking at him. "Well… yeah." Edward said, "But I needed him to see that you are mine. I don't need him getting any ideas." He was getting defensive now.

"Look, caveman. I told you that I was yours. I meant it. Now, while I enjoyed kissing you, I don't need you to shove your tongue down my throat every time a guy looks at me. I. Am. Yours. Now, stop with the crazy display of testosterone, and tell me what's in that damn bag!" I said, smiling at him.

Edward grinned, placed a kiss on my lips, before grabbing the bag from his side. "I am yours too, love. You know that?" I nodded my head at him, before holding my hand out for the bag. Edward passed it over to me, and I opened it quickly, as though I were a small child on Christmas morning.

Inside, was the most thoughtful present I think I've ever received. There was probably about twenty MadLibs books, all of different titles. I felt my eyes moisten with tears as I flipped through the books, smiling all the while. I looked over to Edward who was looking at me with a worried expression.

I leapt across the seat to wrap my arms around him, burying my face into his neck, letting a few tears seep from my eyes onto his skin. "Thank you, so much." I said, smiling against him, breathing in his scent. I pulled away, and looked at him; Edward ran his thumbs along my cheeks, wiping away my tears. "You like them, then?" He asked, smiling weakly at me.

"Of course I do." I said, smiling at him. I plucked one out of the bag, placing the others under my seat. "Let's play!" I said. Edward laughed, and nodded his head, "Can I hold you while we play?" he asked, smiling shyly at me. I smiled, and nodded, getting up so he could move to my seat, and sitting down between his legs, laying back into his chest. Edward wrapped his arms around my waist and I opened up the MadLibs to the first page.

"Okay, noun…"

Edward and I played an entire book of MadLibs, laughing like children in our seats as the overhead lights went out around us. Edward and I were the only ones awake on the plane, and we were having a time of it.

We sat together for hours, talking, laughing, telling each other stories, playing MadLibs… doing anything we could to entertain ourselves until our plane landed at six the next morning. Well, six in the morning Baltimore time, five in the evening Bangkok time.

When the plane landed, Edward and I gathered our things, trudging out of the plane, walking towards the gate. I had been to Thailand a few times before, so I wasn't overwhelmed by the amount of people that were everywhere. People were running in every direction, speaking in a multitude of languages, making my head swell with it's attempts to follow everyone's conversations at once.

Edward stood closely to my side, his hand wrapped around my waist protectively, as we walked out of the gate. I looked around, scanning the area, when I saw someone standing off to the side with a sign that had 'Bella and Edward' written on it.

I nudged Edward to get his attention, and walked over towards the sign, pulling away from Edward and breaking into a run when I realized whom it was. "Jaidee!"

"Bella!" Jaidee answered, wrapping her arms around me when I finally reached her. "How are you?" she asked, her Thai accent still as thick as I remembered. "I'm fantastic, how are you? How's Hainad?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows at her. Jaidee laughed, slapping my arm lightly, before linking our arms together. "Hainad is well. We are getting married in two months." She said, smiling at me. "You're invited, if you would like to attend, of course."

Edward reached us then, looking very confused. I laughed, realizing that I had forgotten to tell him what the deal was before I took off running in the middle of the airport. Oops.

"Edward, this is Jaidee. I met her on one of my trips to Thailand in the past, she's a client. She's going to be helping us out here, I'm assuming that's why you're here, Jaidee?" Jaidee smiled and nodded, "Alice called me." She said, laughing. She turned her attention to Edward. "Hello, Edward. Nice to meet you." She smiled, reaching her hand out to shake his. "Hello, Jaidee. Pleasure is all mine."

"I need to go get changed, Jaidee, as does Edward, so we'll meet you right back here?" I asked, gesturing down to my attire. She smiled and nodded, taking a seat outside our gate and taking our her phone, probably to tell Hainad that she was okay.

I found the nearest set of bathrooms, gave Edward his shorts, before kissing his cheek and walking into the women's bathroom to pull my sarong back on. After getting dressed, and straightening my hair, I swept on some gold eye shadow and mascara, and walked out back into the airport. Edward was leaning against the wall, looking like the sexy man he was. I let my eyes trail up and down his body for a second before he noticed me.

He pushed off the wall, and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me, and kissing my lips. I let him kiss me for a few seconds, before I laughed, and pulled away, taking his hand and walking us back over to where Jaidee was sitting.

"Alright, girl, let's go!" I said, smiling at her. Jaidee hopped up, laced her arm through mine, "You look amazing!" She said, gesturing at my outfit. I smiled, and thanked her, before she continued, "Do you know where you're staying?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, as we walked through the doors, out of the main gate area of the airport, "we're in the Millennium Hilton." I said, blushing. I knew what she was going to say.

"Bella!" Jaidee said, slapping my arm and laughing. Edward was chuckling right along with her. "What is it with you?" she asked. "I like the hotel… that's it." I said, laughing at her. "Besides, the company is paying. Who cares where I'm staying?" I said, laughing. "Oh." Jaidee said, "Well, that changes things. But will you come over to my house tonight? Hainad and I want to cook you two dinner. I told him your were coming and he is so excited to see you again." I smiled, "Of course! Edward and I need to go to the hotel and put everything away, and I should shower… but then we'll be over. Do you two still live in the same place?" Jaidee nodded, before saying, "Alright, well I should get going. I have to go tell Hainad you'll be over. We're so excited that you're back." I smiled, and wrapped my arms around her, kissing both her cheeks. "I'll see you there in about… two hours?"

"Sounds good," Jaidee said. "Edward," she said, leaning over to hug him and kiss both his cheeks, "I hope you'll join us. Good luck with this one; she's a pistol." Edward laughed, "That she is." He said, laughing as he looked over to me, kissing the top of my head.

Jaidee went off to wherever she parked her car, going home to let Hainad know that we were going to be coming over for dinner. Edward and I walked out into the pick up area, and saw a limo driver with our names on a card. "Alice must have called them…" I said, smiling, and pulling Edward into the limo. We tossed our bags into the car, plopping down in the seats, as I leaned forward to confirm our destination with the driver.

"Tell me about Jaidee." Edward said, pulling my legs into his lap and running his hands over my calves. I checked to make sure that the partition was up before I started speaking.

"I came to Thailand a few years back to establish some international agents in the area. After going to a few government sponsored parties, I met Jaidee; she works for the Thai government. I don't know how I managed to get her to agree to work with the CIA, but she is. She sends us Intel on what's going on inside the government every few months or so. She's really good at what she does." I said, smiling at him. "As we worked together over here in Thailand, we got to know each other, and we became good friends. I also managed to recruit her now fiancée, Hainad. He works for a weapons company here in Thailand. He helps us monitor any purchases by rogue groups and any international purchases. It's really, really helpful. We've managed to do a lot of things with the information that he's given us."

"Anyway," I said, reaching over to run my fingers through his hair, "on my third trip to Thailand, I was visiting with Jaidee, when I mentioned that she should meet my friend Hainad. We all went to dinner in downtown Bangkok, and they immediately hit it off. That was… about a year ago. So, needless to say, I take full responsibility for their marriage."

Edward smiled, "Of course you do." He said, laughing at me. "So, why did Jaidee freak out when you told her where we were staying?"

Oh, he had no idea…

"Well… Millennium Hilton is a little… extreme. And I always get the Royal Suite. It's a tad… extravagant." Edward just rolled his eyes at me. "Somehow," he said, grinning at me, "I'm not surprised." I slapped his arm, and laughed, leaning my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes until we got to the hotel.

When we arrived, Edward took my overnight bag, allowing me to carry my messenger bag and clutch. We walked in, checked in to our room, and got into the elevator.

When we got to our room, I turned around, stopping Edward from going in. "This is just a warning… the room is going to be huge. I don't know how comfortable you are with that…" Edward just chuckled. "Babe. I've been staying at your house. Calm yourself." He reached around me, used his key to unlock the door, and pushed it open, holding it open so I could walk in ahead of him.

I smiled, and walked in ahead of him, walking through the main room into the bedroom, and placing my bag down on the bed. Edward walked in a moment later, placing our duffle bags down on the bed. "Holy hell, Bella." He said. I laughed loudly.

"I told you."

We unpacked our bags quietly, occasionally speaking to tease each other. I pulled out another sarong, a change of underwear, and tossing my gold shoes by the ensemble, planning to wear them.

I looked over and saw Edward staring at me, so I decided to screw with him a little. Sighing, I walked into the closet to make sure the hamper that's usually there was still there; when I noticed that it was, I smiled, and walked back into the bedroom.

Stripping out of my clothes, all of my clothes, I walked into the closet and put them into the hamper, reminding myself to call house keeping tomorrow and set up clothes washing with them.

I walked back to the bed, still stark naked, and looked up at Edward. He was absolutely transfixed. I chuckled to myself as I dug around in my bag, locating my cosmetics bag and shampoo bag, and walked into the bathroom. I could hear Edward rummaging around in his bag quickly, slamming things around, and I knew that he was contemplating coming in here.

I tossed my cosmetics bag on the counter, and took my soap out of my shampoo bag, placing them on a shelf inside the shower, before starting the water to heat it up.

_What would I do if Edward came bursting through that door?_

I knew that the relationship between Edward and I was one that balanced on the tip of a knife. We both lived very dangerous lives, and despite what I felt for him, I had to accept the real possibility that I would have to sacrifice him for my job.

Maybe I shouldn't already be thinking this way, but in my line of work, this is just something that you have to accept. And I didn't want to hurt Edward… I really didn't. I could love him, I really could. And this… thing between us? Well, hell. It could be something great.

I got into the shower, allowing the heat of the water to relax my muscles, and slow my racing thoughts. But it only served to help make the thinking easier, as I find the shower to do.

I knew that I only had two real options as far as Edward was concerned. I could play it safe, and call the whole thing off, forcing us to go back to pretending to be friends. Or, I could jump in. As scary as jumping into a relationship with him is… it felt like it was the only thing that would feel right.

And that's when I figured it all out.

As much as I could try to stay away from Edward, it would never work. There was something about him, there was something about us, that kept me coming back for more… would always keep me coming back for me.

The CIA be damned, if Edward Cullen and I were meant to be together… I was going full force; I was going to dive into the water without so much as even a glance behind my back. I was ready for this.

Just then, the shower door opened, and a very naked Edward clutching small bottles of soap to his chest, came barreling into me. "Edward!" I shrieked, laughing as I watched him throw his bottles of soap onto the shelf with mine.

"You thought it was funny getting completely naked in front of me?" he asked, grabbing my wrists and pushing me up against the wall. I didn't say anything, just took in this moment.

_He was making my domination dreams come true. _

"Answer me, Isabella." He said, pressing his lower body into mine, his erection stabbing into my stomach.

I felt my knees go weak at the sound of his gravelly voice growling my name, and I almost slipped down the shower wall. Thank goodness he was holding my hands above my head. "I'm sorry, Sir." I answered, my voice quiet, a whisper against the sound of the shower.

Edward growled and ground his erection against me, my words seeming to have quite the effect on him. "Don't tease me like that again, Isabella." He said, bringing his mouth down to my neck, biting my sensitive skin.

"Who said I was teasing, Sir?" I said, my body burning for his touch. "Well in that case, Isabella," he said, pulling away from me, "I'd say you better prove yourself."

This wasn't a time for kissing, for taking my time showing him just how great I thought we could be. This was time for raw, rough, unbridled fucking.

Let the games begin.

I sunk down to my knees in front of him, using the slickness of the water to help guide my hand up and down his shaft a few times. I looked up at him, and his eyes were trained on my actions. He must have felt me watching him because he looked up, his eyes catching mine; I winked at him, maintaining eye contact, as I slowly took him into my mouth.

I could tell that Edward wanted to close his eyes, as he let out a guttural moan that shook the walls around us. But his eyes stayed locked on mine as I began moving my mouth up and down his length, using my hand to apply pressure to the area that I couldn't reach.

_He was really well endowed. _

Not that I was complaining.

Maintaining eye contact made going down on Edward a million times hotter than I thought it could ever be. The way that his eyes burned into mine as I carefully traced my tongue around his dick almost set me ablaze.

I tightened my lips around him, bringing my mouth off of him with a pop, looking up at him.

Edward seemed to have had enough.

He plucked me up off of the ground, pulling my up and slamming me up against the wall of the shower. "Is this what you wanted, Isabella?" he growled, biting my shoulder roughly. I moaned loudly, but managed to reply, "Yes. Please, fuck me."

Edward growled again, "Wrap your legs around me, Isabella."

I quickly complied, and Edward immediately slammed himself into me. We moaned simultaneously, overcome with the sensation of being together like this.

Edward slammed in and out of me, making sure to hit as far within me as possible. I'm not usually a fan of rough sex, but I think it was different because I actually trusted Edward.

I trusted him not to hurt me. And I craved him.

I bit down on Edward's shoulder, desperately trying to tell him to go faster. At the feel of my teeth on his shoulder, Edward moaned into the skin of my neck, and began slamming himself inside me at a speed that I had never seen.

It should have been painful, but instead it was driving me to the brink of sexual insanity.

I could feel the coil in my stomach start to tighten, and because I knew Edward was close, I took one arm that was wrapped around his neck and brought it between us, rolling my clit between my fingertips. My moans increased in volume and frequency, until I felt myself explode. Edward climaxed at the same time I had, and we rode our orgasms out together.

How he orgasmed without dropping me, I'll never know.

When we finally came down, Edward's shaking arms slowly lowered me to the ground, before he wrapped them around me, pulling me in a close hug. I smiled into his skin; who knew that an intimate hug was the perfect finisher to rough sex? I certainly didn't.

Edward's large hands came up to grasp my face, bringing my mouth to his. He gently kissed my lips, kissing me like he had all the time in the world, like this was all he wanted to do. His tongue moved languidly with mine, his kisses soft and gentle, reminding me that there was an emotional connection behind our physical fire.

He gently broke the kiss, pressing his forehead to mine with a smile. "Let's shower. We have somewhere to be." I chuckled, but agreed.

After quickly washing each other under the warm spray, occasionally taking a minute or two to kiss under the water, we stepped out of the shower, each walking back to the room to get dressed.

We got dressed together; Edward in khaki's and a dark blue button up, sliding his feet into leather flip-flops. I had him help tie my dark blue sarong, not missing the fact that we were once again matching, and slid on my sandals before walking back into the bathroom to apply my makeup.

Once I fluffed out my curls, applied mascara and some lip gloss, I decided that I looked decent.

I walked back out into the bedroom, grabbed my clutch, shoving a few devices in just in case, and the room key, before walking into the living room to join Edward… who was engrossed in a Thai soap opera.

I let him watch for a few more minutes as I dug around in my purse, placing a camera just over the door into our hotel room, over the door into our bedroom, and a few audio bugs around the main room. That way, if someone who should not have been there ever infiltrated our room, we would know.

"Edward, love." I said, laughing at him. He snapped out of whatever trance he was in, hopping to his feet and grabbing my hand. "I rented a car through the hotel, and I have a device scanner with me. All we need to do is scan it before we drive it. Every. Single. Time." I said, looking at him. "I don't need you blowing up or accidentally giving away international secrets." I chuckled, and he squeezed my waist, opening the door, and allowing me to walk out in front of him.

We got down to the lobby, and I handed the concierge my card, telling him that I was waiting to pick up my rental car. He smiled, and nodded at me, telling me that it was already waiting outside for us. We walked out the door, and my eyes feel upon the most gorgeous Lamborghini I had ever seen.

Edward seemed stunned. "Muceiélago LP 670-4 SV." He said, his voice s mesmerized monotone. It made me giggle.

"Yep, now get in." Edward still looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

He climbed in, buckled his belt, and made sure that mine was buckled before he began speaking. "We're in Thailand, for god sakes. What do you need this car for?"

I turned on the device scanner, holding it low in my lap, letting it scan the entire car for a few moments. Thankfully, it came up clean.

I just laughed, "We are supposed to be high society weapons buyers. What do you think we would be driving?" Edward laughed, and we continued our usual banter as we drove to Jaidee's.

We arrived at Jaidee and Hainad's house, parking the car to the side so that it couldn't be seen from the street. Jaidee and Hainad were very excited to see me, wrapping me in hugs and placing kisses on my cheeks. They were just as friendly with Edward, which I think surprised him.

I left Edward in the living room with Hainad, and followed Jaidee into the sitting area, chatting with her about her relationship with Hainad.

"He is so sweet about everything; he is so excited to get married. Please tell us that you will come out for the wedding?" She asked, a charming smile on her face.

"Absolutely, Jaidee! How could I deny you? After all, I set you up." She laughed, but couldn't help but acknowledge that it was true. "Make sure you bring Edward. I love him, as does Hainad. He's just trying to make sure that he has the proper intentions in regards to your honor." I laughed out loud, taking a minute to take in the home that I missed so much.

It was larger than most homes in Thailand are, but small when you considered it against my home in Baltimore. But it was perfect and homey; the only place that I could ever see Jaidee and Hainad living. The walls were decorated with works of art that had been passed down through each of their families, little Buddha statues sitting around randomly throughout the house.

The entire house smelled of curry, seafood, and rice, and my stomach grumbled loudly and appreciatively. I laughed, "I'm sorry, Jaidee. You know that my stomach has a mind of it's own where your cooking is involved." She just laughed, "Don't worry, Bella. Dinner is ready. Why don't you and Edward go sit down? Hainad and I will bring in the food." I nodded, and walked into the living room to go fetch Edward, who was talking to Hainad about football.

"What do you have against Truro City?" Edward was asking, laughing out loud, "I'm from Truro!" Hainad laughed, "I know someone from Tiverton." He answered, laughing as Edward's face turned red. "Screw the Yellows," Edward said, laughing, "Truro is where it's at."

"Alright, boys." I said, laughing at them, "Dinner. Hainad, Jaidee wants help. Edward, we're supposed to go sit. Jaidee's orders." I shrugged.

Edward walked ahead of me, into the dining room, while I hung back to talk to Hainad.

"Thank you for talking to him; I'm happy that you felt the need to make sure he was good for me." I said, leaning over to kiss Hainad on the cheek and give him a hug. "No problems, Bella." He answered, smiling at me. "You're like my little sister. I'm going to protect you as much as I can."

I smiled. I loved knowing that I was able to find people like this out in the world. People that cared for me no matter what I did for a living. People that wanted to protect me just because they cared about me.

"Well, what's the verdict?" I asked as we walked towards the dining room.

"I like him a lot, he'll be good for you. And he's already in love with you. But I'll still break both his knees if he hurts you."

I laughed the rest of the way into the dining room.

"What's so funny?" Edward asked from his spot on the ground. I walked over and sat down next to him, "Just something Hainad said." Edward nodded, "I like him." "Good." I answered, leaning my head on his shoulder, and kissing his cheek. "So, you ready for some traditional Thai dining?" Edward nodded rubbing his stomach and smiling at me.

We had an amazing dinner of Som Tum, a spicy papaya salad with peanuts, shrimp, tomatoes, and crab, Tom Yum Goong, a hot and sour soup with shrimp and mushrooms, and mango and sticky rice for dessert.

"Jaidee, Hainad." Edward said, leaning back and rubbing his stomach. "That was amazing." Jaidee laughed, "Thank you, Edward. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Are you kidding, Jaidee?" I said, laughing. "How couldn't we have enjoyed it? It was delicious as always."

She smiled, and got up to begin collecting the dishes. I hopped up and helped her, the two of us shooing the men back into the front living room. We picked up the dishes, placing them next to the sink so that we could begin washing them. "So, would you be entirely against talking about business with me tonight, Jaidee?" I asked, nervous. She smiled at me as she began handing me dishes to dry. "Oh, of course not. We can always talk about business. You have a business packet, correct?"

I smiled. Jaidee always called my "device scanner" a business packet. It was our favorite code word… mostly because you could use it for anything. "Yes," I said, smiling, "I came entirely prepared." She chuckled, and we continued to wash the dishes.

"So, how long have you and Edward been together?" she asked, looking at me from the corner of her eye. I laughed, "I knew this was coming." She just smiled, but didn't change the subject.

"We met on work, a couple of days ago. Well, I actually saw him in Barneys before I knew that he was going to be a business partner. Because he's international, and my boss hadn't introduced us yet, I had no idea. But we met at this work party for New Year's Eve and we just… hit it off. We tried to be friends, but it didn't really work out."

Jaidee laughed, "I knew you had just gotten some when you came in the door!" "Jaidee!" I said, slapping her arm with a laugh, "how could you possibly have known?"

"Well, for one," she began, "You looked the most relaxed I'd ever seen you. And you didn't look like you were going to jump Edward the second you were left alone like you did when you got off the plane."

"But we had sex on the…" I cut myself off but it was too late. "I KNEW IT!" Jaidee exclaimed, laughing hysterically. I hit her with my damp drying cloth. "Oh, because you and Hainad haven't gone gallivanting around having sex all over this house?" I asked, cocking a knowing eyebrow at her. "We weren't talking about me." She answered, laughing at me.

Soon, we were both dissolved in giggles, trying to hold ourselves up against the side of the counter and keep our hands from splashing in the soapy water. The men must have heard us in the front room, but they didn't dare come and see what had made us laugh this way.

They knew that it probably wouldn't have been safe for them to do so.

We finished the dishes, still laughing a little about the things we had said, reverting back to our friendship almost immediately. That was the thing that I really loved about my friendship with Jaidee. No matter how much time we spent apart, we always dropped right back to where we were when we were back together. It was like nothing could keep us apart.

And that was how I felt about Edward too… only it was on a whole other level that I wasn't even sure existed. I knew that if we were separated from each other for any sort of time, we could fall back into our old routine, as long as we left on good circumstances. But… I didn't want to leave him. I didn't want to leave Jaidee either, because she was one of my best friends, but I knew that I needed to, and I was able to. If I had to leave Edward… I didn't know what it would feel like. If I would be able to make it.

I was attached to him in the best and worst sense of the word. I didn't want to think of myself in terms of anyone else, but I couldn't help thinking of myself in terms of Edward. We were something greater than our individual selves. When we were together, nothing else mattered, nothing else was important. It was the fact that we were able to interact with the world outside us that made our relationship even more amazing to me.

Jaidee and I finished up, putting the dishes away, before walking into the living room to retrieve our men, and walk down into their basement conference room.

We walked into the living room, and into one of the most hilarious things I had seen in a while. Hainad had both his feet over his head, and Edward was trying with all his might to emulate him. "I'm telling you," Hainad was saying, "this makes things really interesting in bed!"

Jaidee and I looked at each other before bursting out laughing. The two men looked over at us, promptly dropping their legs and hopping up, running over to their respective girls. Edward placed a kiss on my mouth, before leaning back and smiling at me. "Boys will be boys?" he offered, and I just dissolved into laughter again.

"Let's head downstairs. We need to talk business." Jaidee said, flipping the light off in kitchen before walking us downstairs.

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**Review Question: What do you think about Jaidee?**

**See you next chapter!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! I'm backkkk! I know, I'm shocking the pants off of so many people right now.**

**This one is a shorty, but I had to cut it where I did so that the next chapter could pick up where I needed it to. I hope you like it. As usual, I appreciate reviews, mostly because I need to criticism. Someone criticize me! Thanks to everyone who's loyal to the story; that includes those who review and those who don't. I'm glad you're sticking around!**

**Quote of the Update:**

**"I don't believe in accidents. There are only encounters in history. There are no accidents." - Pablo Picasso**

**What I Own: Some pieces of art currently in production (ack)**

**What I Don't: Twilight, anything created by SM... as per usual. :(**

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We walked downstairs and into Jaidee's conference room. It was small, with extra thick walls and a large, locking door. I wasn't sure if it was completely sound proof, or completely impenetrable for that matter, but we weren't in immediate danger, so I wasn't too concerned.

We all walked in and shut the door behind us, not speaking until I had pulled out my device scanner and scanned the room quickly. Once we were sure that the room was clean, we all sat down in the small arm chairs that were peppered around the room.

"So, I don't know what level of knowledge you have about this man," I said, looking between Jaidee and Hainad, "but we are looking for a man named James Conklin. We need to get in touch with him any way that we can."

Jaidee and Hainad knew that I couldn't give them the details of the mission; they knew that I could only tell them a few things, the things that I thought that they could help give me information on. That was part of the relationship between the spy and the international agent: the agent had to be wiling to accept the fact that they weren't always going to know what exactly was going on; they just had to trust that they were doing what was best.

"He's made a few deals with a few of the weapons dealers in Thailand recently." Hainad said, "We've been tracking the dealers for the past few months because we are trying to figure out why our sales have started to sink."

This peeked my interest; why would James be buying weapons? In Thailand? This country wasn't one that was completely oblivious, and the chance that he would be caught up in a legal battle regarding a sale from a weapons dealer was exponentially greater.

I wondered what he was buying…

"I've only ever seen his papers; he's living here now, so he had to file a living visa, of a sort. It's like what you have in the US, except less… sophisticated." Jaidee laughed. She had to deal with all the crap like that in the Thai government, and most of the time, she was less than amused. But I was grateful for her; her location within the government helped us a lot.

"Where's he staying?" Edward asked, looking at Jaidee. "He's not too far away from Sukhumvit Road, actually." Jaidee said.

Sukhumvit Road was one of the central commercial roads in Bangkok. It wasn't surprising that he was there, but then again… it was quite expensive to live there.

"Well, Edward and I need to get back; we have a long day tomorrow. But if I could ask a favor of both of you?" I asked, looking between them. Jaidee and Hainad nodded, looking at me as though I was crazy. "Could you keep an eye out for James? Listen for his name; see who's talking about him. Don't bring him up and don't talk about him to anyone; but if you hear someone talking about him, contact me as soon as you get home." I said.

They both agreed, as I knew they would, and we walked up the stairs and out of the house, standing on the front porch. "Thank you so much for having us," I said, smiling at Jaidee and Hainad, "I'm sure I'll see you more while I'm here." I smiled warmly at them, wrapping Jaidee in a hug, kissing both her cheeks, before repeating the process with Hainad.

"Again, thanks for having us in your home." Edward said. He wrapped Jaidee in a hug, kissing her cheeks, "The food was delicious, thank you." He said, smiling down at her. He reached out and shook Hainad's hand, clapping his back with his free hand. "Great getting to know you," Edward said, smiling, "even though you have a vendetta against Truro." Both men laughed before separating, then Edward walked back over to me and wrapped his arm around my waist.

It felt like home, there.

We said our final goodbyes, and Edward and I walked slowly over to the car. "You want to drive?" I asked, looking up at him. Edward's face broke into a huge smile, "Of course!" he said, his voice sounding more like that of an excited teenager than of the man that I'd come to know. I chuckled, and handed him the keys, and I could tell that he was fighting the urge to go sprinting off to the car.

Like the gentleman he was, Edward helped me into the car before walking back around and getting in the drivers seat. He clicked on the GPS, which he kept low in the car, and began driving us home.

We didn't speak on the ride home, so I had plenty of time to figure out where my head was.

We still had a few conversations that we needed to have… like his penchant for STD testing, and my tattoo. But first… I needed to figure out where I was with him.

I was falling for him. I knew it. Whenever he was near me, my heart beat… faster and slower at the same time. As cliché as that is. He made me want to jump him every single second he was near, constantly putting me on edge. But he also made me feel at home. When he was around, I felt safe, like nothing could go wrong… I felt like I was invincible.

And maybe that's how you're supposed to feel. I don't know I've never been in love. I've never even been falling in love.

When I think back on my very broken track record, I don't see how I'm even remotely emotionally ready to deal with something like this. I've already considered having to give him up for my job.

But what if it actually came down to that? What if I was actually forced to choose? Would I? I wouldn't want to choose… but would I actually choose? And would I choose my work? I like to think that I would, because I have never been the type to sacrifice my work for some man. But as my relationship with Edward progressed, I started to think that I would pick him.

I was starting to think that I couldn't imagine my life without him. That I wouldn't be able to go on without him in my life. It wasn't that I didn't want to think this way… not at all. This kind of thinking was just something that was completely new to me. I wasn't used to being dependent on someone.

But maybe that's what this whole thing was about… learning to give your heart to someone, learning to trust him with it. Maybe I just needed to do what I had been thinking I was going to do all along. Maybe I just needed to jump in.

That's when I finally decided it.

I was going to give my heart to Edward Cullen.

No more doubting myself, no more doubting what we had. What we had felt real; hell, it was real, so why should I sit around and think that it was eventually going to end? It didn't make any sense, now that I was sitting here thinking about it. To think that the relationship between us was eventually going to end before I even gave it a real chance?

Where the hell was my head? What the hell was I thinking?

I watched as Edward smoothly navigated the car along the path that the GPS was quietly calling out. I took note of the way that his hand gripped the leather of the wheel, firmly, but gently at the same time, while his other hand rested gently in the gearshift. I couldn't help but stare at him, totally gripped by the beauty of him.

He must have felt me staring, because he turned his head for a moment, our eyes locking. He smiled warmly at me, before reaching his hand over to hold mine, before returning his eyes to the road.

I had never felt more complete.

I had never held a man's hand before and felt like this was where I belonged.

I had never wanted to hold a man's hand every single day… I never felt like this was enough. But with Edward, I felt like I could hold his hand… and that would simply be enough. I didn't want it to be enough, of course, because I loved the sex. But this was all I needed from him. Just a soft, simple reminder that he was here, and that he was thinking about me.

And that's when I knew that my heart was **totally** in this thing with Edward Cullen. My head was another beast entirely… and I knew that its decision would be dependent on the conversation about my tattoo.

Which we definitely needed to have tonight.

It wasn't a huge, life altering conversation. I wasn't hiding things from him or anything like that. But I have a feeling that he might want to know why I had the words "I pray you do not fall in love with me. For I am falser than vows made in wine." tattooed on my hip.

My head should be in tune with my heart, and I knew that. But it was so hard to really settle my thoughts and just let this thing with Edward happen. I'm a spy for a living; my job is to second-guess the things that people tell me and try and find out who they really are. My job tells me that I am not supposed to trust people. My job tells me that I am supposed to manipulate people to get what I want out of every single situation.

Not exactly conducive of a relationship, if you asked me.

But I knew that I needed to give this thing with Edward a real shot. I would never forgive myself if I just dicked around and lost the best thing that ever happened to me.

And I was starting to think that Edward actually was the best thing that ever happened to me.

We arrived at the hotel some time later, and after Edward helped me out of the car, I grasped his hand in mine. "When I said I wanted to give this a shot," I said, "I was serious. But you need to give me time. I've never done this before. Ever. I… I don't know what to do." I said, looking up at him bashfully.

Edward smiled down at me, pulled me into his side, and kissed my head. "I would go to the ends of the Earth for you Bella; wait until the end of time. Don't worry about me. You figure out what's going on in your head. Because I know that your heart is in the right place."

Yep, I could definitely fall in love with this man.

We chatted about our meal on our way over to the elevator, chuckling about how nervous Edward had actually been at the start of the night. "I had no idea what he was going to think of me, but from the way that Jaidee talked about your relationship with them, I figured that he was going to be protective of you. I was freaking nervous, Bella." I laughed at him; the idea of Hainad actually doing anything to Edward was absolutely laughable.

He was like a teddy bear.

"So," I said, as we walked off the elevator and into our room, "we have two more discussions that I feel like we need to have before my head gets in the right place." I said, trying to swallow my nerves and man-up already. "Oh?" Edward said, looking at me. "And what would those be?" He squeezed my hand, sensing that these conversations were going to be crucial as to how "head-in" I was going to be able to get with this relationship.

And I really, really wanted to jump in already.

"My tattoo," I started, looking at him nervously. Edward 'ahh'ed in recognition, before motioning that I should continue, "Well, uhm, and your penchant for STD testing…" Edward laughed then, but placed a kiss on my cheek, and walked us into the living room, plopping down on the couch.

I sat down next to him, looking at him nervously. "What do you want to talk about first?" I asked, my hands fidgeting in my lap. Edward reached over, stilling my moving hands before looking at me.

"Whatever you want, love." He answered.

"Okay… well… why do you get tested for STDs every two months?" I asked, the words blurting out of my mouth in the least attractive fashion they could have. Edward chuckled. "It's a requirement for MI6. I get a full set of blood work done every two months, so it just kind of happens. Plus, I give blood a lot, so I get tested then too. I don't actively seek out STD tests."

I chuckled then, feeling like an idiot. Even I got tested for some STDs frequently… at least, the ones that show up on blood work.

"Plus, I've never had sex without a condom… except with you." Edward said, blushing at the last part. I smiled at him, "Me either."

Now that we had that out of the way, I felt a lot better talking to him about this last part. It was going to be interesting… seeing what he had to say about this one.

"So… the tattoo. You've seen it. You actually mentioned it the first time we had sex." I blushed, looking away from him.

Edward chuckled, his laughter forcing me to look at him, "I remember." Despite the giggly tone I had expected, his voice was gruff, his eyes blazing with a sexual fire I knew I was going to have to ignore if I wanted to finish this conversation.

"**Anyway**," I said, over emphasizing the word with a laugh, "I wanted to have that "talk about our pasts" talk… it pretty much covers the basis for the tattoo." I said, looking shyly in his direction.

Edward smiled at me. "I can give you my past right now. I dated a girl named Charlotte for a few months back in secondary school, a girl named Jane during university, a woman named Aliza during my medical school training/spy training… well, she thought I was just a medical student, but little did she know…" Edward wagged his eyebrows at me and I laughed. "And I've never been one for casual sex, but I have slept with two of my targets. I was fully protected both times, and it hasn't happened since. So, there you go."

Mine actually wasn't much more complicated. But it seemed that mine, as usual, drug with it the awkward, awful feelings that women usually experience.

"Mine is much the same actually." I said, at least relieved that we were working from a similar playing field. "My last 'serious boyfriend', if you can even call him that, Max, found out that I was cheating on him… it sounds bad, but really, I was sleeping with a target." Edward's jaw clenched.

"Is this a habit of yours?" he asked, looking at me seriously. "Sleeping with targets while in a relationship?" "No." I answered, looking him straight in the eye "I've slept with a few targets, but when I'm in relationships, I usually don't. Max was the only exception. I was getting ready to break up with Max anyway." Edward looked at me for a few seconds still feeling unsure.

"I would never do that to you. I'm going to ask that things that would require such actions be given to the younger, single agents. I'm serious about this with us, Edward. I… I don't want to mess it up." I don't know if that appeased him, but he seemed better with the situation.

"That's great. Because, Bella… I don't take that lightly. This would be over the second I saw or heard anything like that happened. No matter what I feel for you." He said. He was entirely serious. "I understand. And the same stands for me, despite what I did to Max. I'm not making excuses for what I did, because I know it was wrong. I just know that I did what I did because I didn't want to be in a relationship with him anyway. Though, I can never see myself getting to that point with you." I blushed at the last part, and Edward smiled at me. He reached over a grabbed my hand, brushing a kiss across my knuckles.

"So… now I have to tell you the history behind the tattoo. Mostly because it's all about my dating history." I looked at him nervously, but Edward just grinned wickedly at me.

"Can you show me what it says again?" He said, smiling at me. I chuckled, but lifted up the side of my sarong, showing him the words etched into my skin.

"I got it tattooed after I broke up with my boyfriend Peter. We had just started dating before I went off to spy training, and I could barely talk to him. I wasn't that serious about Peter anyway, but he assumed the worst things about me. He thought I was married, thought I had kids, thought I was hiding some whole other life from him. I was hiding, but it was my spy life. Nothing outrageous like he thought." I sighed, running my fingers over the tattoo over my dress. "I broke up with him and got the ink done the next day. I didn't want to feel like I was automatically lying to every guy I dated, even though I was. I wanted to feel like I was at least giving them a warning."

Edward looked at me, obviously able to recognize where I was coming from.

"I hated not being able to tell people that I was interested in what I did for a living. It hurt me to think that I was lying to them right out of the gate. I think the reason that I was able to do things like have sex with targets while in a relationship was mostly due to the fact that I was so emotionally removed from any relationship I'd been in." I sighed, looking down at the ground. I needed to let him know that I was in this…

"But with you… this whole thing feels different. I'm able to tell you who I am. You KNOW who I am. You know things about me that I've never told anyone. And I'm okay with that. I love that. I want to tell you everything, because I want you to know exactly who I am. Half of me is scared that once you know everything about me, you'll run away, but the other half is willing to take that chance. I… I'm in this with you. Head, heart, and soul, Edward. I'm here. As long as you want me." I looked at him, watching him sit silently on the couch, just staring at me.

Suddenly, he was speaking. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that." He said, springing himself on me.

I laughed out loud; the sound was tinkling and happy, a reflection of how I was really feeling. Edward continued to lie on top of me as he whispered,  
"Take bread away from me, if you wish,

take air away, but

do not take from me your laughter.

Do not take away the rose,

the lance flower that you pluck,

the water that suddenly

bursts forth in joy,

the sudden wave

of silver born in you.

My struggle is harsh and I come back

with eyes tired

at times from having seen

the unchanging earth,

but when your laughter enters

it rises to the sky seeking me

and it opens for me all

the doors of life.

My love, in the darkest

hour your laughter

opens, and if suddenly

you see my blood staining

the stones of the street,

laugh, because your laughter

will be for my hands

like a fresh sword.

Next to the sea in the autumn,

your laughter must raise

its foamy cascade,

and in the spring, love,

I want your laughter like

the flower I was waiting for,

the blue flower, the rose

of my echoing country.

Laugh at the night,

at the day, at the moon,

laugh at the twisted

streets of the island,

laugh at this clumsy

boy who loves you,

but when I open

my eyes and close them,

when my steps go,

when my steps return,

deny me bread, air,

light, spring,

but never your laughter

for I would die."

"Pablo Neruda." I whispered, looking up at him. Edward just nodded, smiling down at me.

Suddenly, my body was on fire.

I reached up, grabbing Edward's face between my hands and pulled his mouth down to mine. Even though this kiss was filled with the same kind of fiery passion that I was used to between us, there was something else there… something deeper that I wasn't used to.

It was something that was telling me that this was right, absolutely right. That I belonged in these arms, and no other. That, as long I was here, with Edward, I would be happy every day for the rest of my life.

I was in love with Edward.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT, I was in love with Edward.

I wanted to scream it from the roof tops, I wanted to write a letter to every person I'd ever met, I wanted to advertise all over every city in the world.

But mostly, I wanted to continue to lay here, Edward's body pressing into mine, his mouth hot on mine, our hips grinding together like a pair of horny teenagers.

I also wanted to tell him. I didn't know if I should… I didn't know the protocol on this sort of thing. Was I supposed to wait until he said it first? Should I wait three weeks and then tell him? Should I just fucking say it already?

I hate that I've never done this before. I have no effing –

"Bella," Edward said, suddenly breaking the kiss and pressing his forehead to mine. "Bella, I know it's way too soon to be telling you this, but I'm in love with you. Bella, I love you."

I froze underneath him.

I felt my heart explode inside my chest, all my worries completely disappearing from my head, my heart soaring somewhere into the clouds. I was getting dizzy, drunk off of his love, my love… our love.

"Edward, I love you too." I said, smiling a smile so wide at him I thought my cheeks were going to tear.

Edward smiled the most gorgeous smile at me, before jumping up off of me and picking me up in his arms.

I immediately wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs against his waist, kissing him as though every molecule in my body depended on it.

Edward walked us into the bedroom, where he slowly detangled my legs from his body, spinning me in his arms so that he was holding me bridal style. He set me down in the middle of the bed, taking a step back to admire me lying there against the stark white comforter.

I smiled up at him, my heart wanting to burst from the amount of love I saw on Edward's features. He knelt at the end of the bed, taking my sandals off one at a time, kissing each ankle gently before tossing the sandals to the floor. He kissed my ankles all the way around, trailing kisses up my shins and my knees, before bending my right leg, kissing my calf, and the back of my knee, repeating the process on my left leg.

Edward was going to make love to me.

He reached out for my hands, pulling me up into a sitting position, before pulling me up off the bed. As I stood before him, watching him look at me with so much love in his eyes, I almost felt my body give in. Which would not have been cute at all.

Edward reached behind my neck, untying my sarong, letting the fabric fall down around us. He took a second to admire me, standing there in my underwear in front of him, before he moved to remove my bra and panties.

And suddenly, I was standing there naked.

I should have been ashamed, I should have wanted to cover myself up. I was standing completely naked in front of Edward, my whole body on display for him. And yet, I couldn't find it in me to care.

The way his eyes trailed over the surfaces of my body excited me, rather than made me nervous. I found myself loving the way that his eye caressed my form, as opposed to trying to hide myself from his view, as I had so often done in the past. I wanted him to see me. I wanted to be seen.

I reached out for his belt, undoing the buckle swiftly, before pulling the belt from the loops, the snapping sound of the belt echoing in the air. I managed to get his pants unbuttoned and removed before I decided to reach up and unbutton his shirt.

I pushed the shirt off of his shoulders, running my fingers down his chest, reveling in the way his muscles contracted at my touch.

I reached down, sliding his boxers down his legs, laughing quietly as he kicked them off his feet. "Oh ha ha, Bella." He said, smiling at me. He took my face in his hands, pulling my mouth to his, kissing me reverently. I smiled into the kiss, kissing him back, our tongues rolling around together in my mouth.

I loved this new kind of sex. It was calm, relaxed, and perfectly us. I got the chance to experience him, without feeling like I had to perform. Our happiness, our love came through in every moment, every movement, every kiss, and every touch. I had never had sex like this.

I guess this is why they call it 'making love'. I finally got it.

Slowly, Edward began walking me backwards, until I felt my knees hit the bed. He picked me up, breaking the kiss to place me on the bed, my head burying itself amongst the pillows. Edward walked around to the end of the bed, climbing up, his body moving towards mine in the most feline of ways.

I laughed as he picked up my ankle, kissing the sensitive sole of my foot. I covered my laugh with my hand, biting my lip as he kissed my other foot in the same manner.

He slowly kissed his way up my entire body, smiling when his kisses made me laugh, as he trailed his lips over particularly sensitive skin. Finally, his mouth was at my ear, and he whispered, "I say I Love You, like all the words could choke me, if they don't come out." I loved his haikus.

The rest moved along in a flurry of whispered love, quiet laughs, soft moans, and begging words, our bodies moving together towards ecstasy.

When we finally collapsed together, sometime around midnight, we were spent, but deliriously happy.

Edward crawled under the blankets, pulling me with him. I snuggled up against his chest, smiling as Edward held me there, as though he was afraid I was going to try and escape sometime during the night.

Didn't he know? I was completely besotted with him. I wasn't going anywhere unless he made me.

It was a little scary to think that I had fallen so hard, fallen so quickly.

But when I thought about it… really thought about it… pushing it off would have been unnatural, uncomfortable, and unwanted. I knew where I needed to rest my head every night. I knew whom I needed to be with. I didn't see the sense in denying myself that desire any longer. You only live for so long, and in my line of work, you could die any day.

Hell, I could go out with Edward tomorrow, find James, think everything went great, and end up getting shot. I could get run over by a car because someone tipped off some foreign enemies that I was in the country. I could get blown up…

The point is, anything could happen.

So as I snuggled up into Edward, trying to get as much of my skin to be in contact with as much of his as I could before allowing myself to fall asleep, I knew that I'd made the right decision.

Especially when Edward leaned down, placed his lips on mine one last time and whispered, "I love you, Bright Eyes." before closing his large emerald eyes and falling asleep.

I smiled against the skin of his neck and whispered, "I love you too, Edward." before closing my eyes and allowing myself the same luxury.

* * *

**So what do you guys think?**

**Question for the review: Have you had your first 'I love you'? What was it like?**

**I haven't had mine. And I'm okay with that. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Too good to be true... I know that's what you were all thinking when I updated so quickly that last few times.**

**But I'm back... I had a bought of writer's block that was insanely difficult to deal with. But now the words are back (knock on wood).**

**So... quote of the update:**

**"Writer's block... is simply a failure of ego." - Norman Mailer**

**Things I Own: A Weezer biography. (Okay, it's borrowed...)**

**Things I DEFINITELY Don't: Twilight or any of the associated characters.**

* * *

I woke the next morning to the sound of whistling.

I rolled over, expecting to find Edward lying with me, but instead found myself alone amongst the tangled sheets.

I took a moment to throw my head back into the pillows and smile about the events of the night before. I had told Edward that I loved him. And I had meant it. It wasn't some stupid thing that I told him, thinking that it would help me get farther in the mission or something. Nope, it was one hundred percent legitimate, and I was happy as hell about it.

I rolled out of bed, grabbed Edward's discarded button up from the night before, buttoning the buttons and rolling up the sleeves so they kind of sat at my elbows.

_Damn he has huge arms!_

I was so ridiculously happy; I had to take a second to shake out my jitters before I could walk out into the public area. No need to let Edward see me grinning like an idiot first thing in the morning.

I walked out into the living room just as I heard the suite door closing, a rattling sound (and the whistling) getting closer to the main area. I was trying to figure out what tune was being whistled before Edward turned the corner, pushing a small cart with a few covered trays on it in front of him.

The whistling stopped abruptly when he saw me, but it was too late. I had already figured out what Edward had been whistling.

"Edward…" I asked, a wide smile spreading across my face, "were you just whistling 'Bad Romance'?" Edward blushed, confirming my suspicions. "Lady Gaga is very catchy." Edward said, holding his hands out in front of him defensively.

I laughed, getting up off the couch to walk over and wrap my arms around him. Edward returned the hug, swaying us slightly from side to side as we stood there.

Edward moved back, keeping me within the circle of his arms, taking a second to look me over. "You look so fucking sexy in my shirt." He said; his voice was thick and husky, making me yearn for him. He bent down, nibbling on my neck, alternating between the soft nibbles of his lips and the sharp nibbling from his teeth. I groaned, the vibrations of my throat shaking against Edward and inducing his own moan.

"Edward." I gasped, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him into me. Edward licked up my neck, causing my heart to skip a couple of beats before pulling up to place his head on my forehead.

Edward pulled back, placing a kiss on my mouth and said, "I probably shouldn't have started anything." He said, blushing sheepishly. "I have breakfast for us. I figured we should probably get going pretty soon…" Edward gestured towards the containers he had next to him. As much as I wanted to continue what we'd just started, I was very excited to eat. I was starving.

I smiled up at him, "Thanks. What did you order?"

"Pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit, juices, and coffee. I didn't know what you would want to eat." He said, looking at me sheepishly.

I smiled and leaned up on my toes to kiss him. Edward wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me against him, smiling into the kiss. "I love you." He said when we broke away, his forehead pressed against mine. I smiled widely, my face threatening to break with my happiness. "I love you too."

I leaned up to press my lips to his again, allowing him to kiss me for a minute before I pulled away. "Food?" I said, smiling at him.

Edward placed a kiss on my forehead before picking the trays up off the cart and walking over to the small kitchen table.

I walked into the kitchen area and grabbed two plates, cups, and some silverware from the drawers, walking back to the table and setting it. We scooped food onto our plates, and began eating, chucking as we joked around with each other.

I loved that things with Edward were so simple. With all my old boyfriends, things always felt forced. It took effort to talk to them, effort to think of things to talk about, and effort to want to be around them. It wasn't that I was afraid of putting effort into a relationship… I just didn't think that I should need to put effort into things that should come easily with someone that you loved.

And how I loved Edward.

It was new, scary, exhilarating, and confusing. When I seriously thought about it, I felt like I was going to throw up. But I loved every second of it. I was taking a serious chance here… but I couldn't, wouldn't have it any other way.

We finished our food, walking into the kitchen to drop our plates into the dishwasher, before deciding that we should shower.

We showered together, of course, messing around as per usual, but we managed to get dressed in a reasonable amount of time.

We walked, hand in hand, through the lobby of the hotel, hailing a cab that was sitting outside, and drove to Sukhumvit Road, the area where Jaidee had said that James was registered to be living.

We hopped out of the cab, onto the busy street, absolutely surrounded by people. I smiled up at Edward; this was one of my favorite places in Bangkok. I loved the hustle and bustle, the shopping, and the food… I loved everything about this area of town. It was amazing.

Edward wrapped his arm protectively around me as I guided him through the street, taking him places that I thought would be fun to look through, listening to the conversations of those around me.

Because I understood Thai, and obviously English, I was able to understand what the people around me were talking about. Most of it was nothing that I was interested in, but as I was walking through a booth that sold sarongs, I found myself listening quite closely.

A Thai man was talking to a Thai woman, complaining about a tenant that he had recently acquired. "The man is American!" he was saying, gesturing wildly with his hands. "He has no idea about our culture, no respect for people. He has people coming in and out of that apartment at all hours. I cannot take it!" The woman was shaking her head empathetically, saying something about how typically American that was, before she asked, "Which tenant?"

"The one in 4B," he said, pointing at the building behind us, his finger around the fourth floor, "the tall, lanky blonde one." The woman nodded in recognition, "I've seen him down here a few times. He asked me about prostitutes. I pretended not to understand English, so I even got a little acting out of him."

I had to suppress my laughter then, my body shaking a bit before I managed to get myself under control. Edward noticed my shaking and he looked down at me, checking to make sure I was okay.

I smiled at him, "I'm fine, Edward." I said, chuckling. I walked us out of the tent before continuing, "Do you speak Thai?" Edward shook his head no, and I smiled at him.

"Well, luckily for us, I do." I said, smiling at him. Edward looked stunned. "YOU DO?" He said, his eyes wide, "But it's such a difficult language to grasp." He said. He must have tried to learn a few times. "Yeah, but so are all the Asian languages. I've found that once you learn one, the others are easier to pick up." I said, smiling at him.

He still looked stunned. "How many languages do you speak?" He asked, staring at me. "You really don't want to know." I answered. He didn't. It was almost disturbing.

I had a great photographic memory, and a penchant for picking up languages. It definitely helped me as a spy; when people found out that I was able to speak their language, they typically worked with me a lot easier. Others found it comforting that I was able to speak with them in another language besides their foreign tongue. These people wanted to speak with me in other languages at all times; they felt better talking to me about spying if they were 'sure' that no one around them was able to understand what we were actually talking about.

I'm convinced it was one of the reasons that I was able to pull in so many foreign agents.

Edward just shook his head at me, before saying, "So what were they talking about?" he asked, gesturing back to the people he must have seen me watching. "They were talking about a new American tenant that was living in that building." I flicked my head towards the building, not willing to blatantly point in public. "They described him as tall, blonde, and lanky, which fits James description; there is always a possibility that it isn't him, but I think I'm willing to hang around here and find out." I said, looking at him.

I was going on a hunch here, and I wasn't sure how he felt about that. When I worked by myself, I always followed my hunches; they were always right. But some of the people that I worked with didn't agree with them, so we usually ended up taking long, drawn out paths, to get to the same place my hunch could have gotten us, without all the wasted time. Oh well; I fixed it eventually, and that's all that mattered.

Though, I was tired of having to fix it. Somehow, I doubted that I would have to fix things when Edward was involved. He seemed intelligent enough to figure out situations on his own. Thank god.

Edward and I mulled around the shopping center for a bit, laughing and talking to each other, waiting for James to walk out of the building that we'd seen the man pointing at earlier.

We stood around, laughing together, while I tried to fend off Edward's almost incessant need to buy me things, and waited for James.

Of course, just as I was about to give up, out walked a very tall, lanky blonde. I had to resist the urge to go running over towards him to determine if he was the man that we had been waiting for.

I nudged Edward gently in the side, playfully smacking his hands as he held up a necklace that he wanted to buy me. I prayed that he would get the message; though his hands stayed up, trying to wrap the necklace around my neck, and his words continued to beg me to let him purchase it for me, I saw in his eyes that he understood what I was getting at. I smiled up at him, before taking the necklace from around my neck, and placing it back on the table.

"Do you think we should walk by talking about Jenks?" Edward asked, leaning down and whispering directly into my ear. I giggled and lightly slapped his arm, making it look like he had just said something dirty to me.

I leaned up on my toes, wrapping my arms around his neck to bring his head closer to mine. "Let's do it."

Edward wrapped his arm around me, both of us watching James from the corner of our eyes. We kept our hands busy with the objects on the table, before Edward said, "Have you heard from Jenks yet, love?"

James froze, his eyes trained on us. _Perfect._

I smiled up at him, "I haven't. Which is weird… he's usually jumping to get in on business deals with us."

Edward laughed, "So true. I guess we'll just have to get in touch with Victoria and Riley our-"

"Excuse me." Edward was interrupted when James walked over, clearly making himself a part of our conversation. "Yes?" Edward asked, visibly tightening his grip on my waist. I fought to ignore the sparks that starting shooting through me.

_Business now; hot, rough sex later._

"How do you know about Jenks?" James asked.

We didn't know anything about Jenks. We didn't know if he was a real person, a made up code, a fucking operation… we had no idea. So I let Edward field this one.

He looked at me nervously; James interpreted the move as his hesitation about revealing our involvement in an arms deal scheme, I knew that it was his lack of knowledge about what was going on.

I looked back at Edward for a few seconds before nodding. Edward leaned to kiss my head, before returning his gaze back to James. "We've… worked with Jenks in the past." Edward said.

The answer was perfectly ambiguous and could fit no matter what Jenks actually meant.

"Funny," James said, looking between the two of us, "I've never seen you in his office." We looked back at him, smiles gracing our faces. "We tend to fly under the radar." Edward said, bringing his eyes back to me. I resisted the urge to snuggle up against him. We needed to look strong, not lovesick and easily cracked.

"Would you like to get lunch with me? I'm James Conklin by the way." James said, looking generally curious about us as he reached his hand out to shake our hands. "Isabella Swan." I said, taking his hand, watching as Edward nearly squeezed the life out of James' hand during their introduction.

"I'd love to hear all this new deal you are trying to get in on."

Edward tore his gaze from me, looking over at James. "That sounds fantastic." I answered, smiling at him as I pulled out my phone. "Let me just adjust our schedule, hon." Angling the phone so that only I could see it, I shot Jake a quick text.

'JAKE: GET ME EVERYTHING YOU CAN ON JENKS ASAP. READ IT INTO MY EAR PIECE. LUNCH WITH JAMES, NEED INFO STAT.'

As I was clicking my hands furiously across the screen, I heard James laugh and say, "Women." I resisted the urge to snort, when Edward replied, "Yeah, but I love her."

James obviously couldn't resist the urge to snort on his end.

When I looked up, Edward was trying to avoid glaring at James, obviously offended that James had insulted his affections for me. "We're all set." I said, smiling, "I just changed our lunch reservations at the hotel. We now have a table at the six o'clock dinner service."

Edward wrapped his arms around me, kissing my head. "Perfect." We spun around to find James watching us with an annoyed look on his face. He quickly made his face appear neutral walking over to us, before asking us where we would like to dine.

Indecisive, we began walking up the road, when Jake clicked on in my ear. I would have jumped if I weren't so used to the noise.

"Bells. I got your text. I went on a frantic search for this 'Jenks', and I've found him. He is an AMAZINGLY clever middleman, based out of DC. He daels with a lot of people who like to do illegal business, though he does work with legal transactions as well. He keeps everything hush-hush, and is surprisingly good at it."

I hummed, making it look as though I was checking out the booths on the street.

"As for his place here, he is the mediator for James in this weapon deal with Victoria and Riley. The CIA has since officially contacted him, letting him know that he will not be prosecuted for any of his illegal dealings if he promises to work with us."

I couldn't say anything, because then James would know something was up; I thought quickly and came up with a plan. "Edward, have you heard from your brother?" I said, smiling at him innocently. Edward didn't know what was going on, so he answered me honestly. "Yes, we talked this morning." "Oh, what did he say? How is he?" Edward gave me a few of the superficial details about his conversation with Emmett, before I nodded and said, "That's good."

_Hopefully Jake knew what I wanted to say there._

"Very clever, Bells." He said, laughing. "Jenks said that he was willing to work with us, as he had worked with organizations like M16 in the past. We are currently trying to convince him to turn all deals targeted at harming the US over to us, but we have his agreement to work on this case."

Jake paused, clicking around on his computer for a moment before speaking again.

"We are assuming that James is going to call Jenks and ask about your past with him. He is going to play along. You guys have been apart of weapons deals, and even some South American drug deals in the past. Well… apparently." Jacob laughed, "That's all I got for you now. I find anything else, or hear of an update from the boss, I'll let you know. And I'll just let you thank me later."

I had to suppress a smile as I heard Jacob click off.

We walked about ten minutes up the street, finding a small bistro that I'd been to the last few times I'd been to Thailand. It served some of the best food I'd ever had, and was pretty cheap too. The restaurant, who's name meant 'Delicious' when translated, was absolutely amazing, and definitely lived up to it's name.

We walked in, taking a moment to get situated (which of course included that audio recorder I'd secured to the bottom of the table) and order before the real conversation started.

"So," James said, looking at us, "how do you know Jenks?" "We've worked with him in the past… some weapons deals, a few SA drug deals… nothing out of the ordinary." I responded coolly, letting James feel like he had managed to drag the information out of my involuntarily.

James smiled at me, just as I knew he would. "So, what are you waiting to hear about?" he asked. _Ahh, so he had been listening._

"We're waiting to hear about an Italian weapon deal we're dying to get in on." Edward said his expression completely steeled. He would be impossible to read if I didn't know him so well.

"Italian deal? Who is the source, if you don't mind my inquiry?" James was beginning to look nervous. _As if there were any OTHER Italian deals going on right now. The Italians are very secure when it came to these kinds of things. Just this one breach…_

"There is a file we're very interested in acquiring." I said, taking a sip of my Cha Yen (Thai iced tea), looking over the rim at James as innocently as I could.

"File 33?" James asked, leaning across the table. I smiled and nodded, not giving him the benefit of any further "reveals". "I'm trying to acquire 33." He said, looking between the two of us, "What do you need it for?"

"Well, honestly," Edward said, taking a moment to dramatically look around before leaning slightly into the table, "we just want to get our hands on it so we can sell it off. We don't care what it is, or what's in it… we just want to profit. We're looking for parties to buy now." James studied us for a moment before his face lit up.

"I already have a few groups very interested in buying. Perhaps, for a cut, I could work together with you on this project."

Edward and I looked at each other, silently congratulating each other on how quickly we had gotten what we wanted. "We'll have to talk about this. If you'll excuse us?" I said. Edward hopped up, pulling out my chair and taking my hand, before placing his hand on the small of my back and guiding me towards the front of the restaurant.

Once we were out of James sight, I smiled so widely at Edward I thought my face was going to break. He picked me up in his arms, spinning me around, breathing his sounds of happiness into my neck.

"I cannot believe we got him already!" I whispered onto his skin, placing my lips over the place my lips had fallen. Edward nodded into my skin, trailing his lips up and down my neck.

"Okay, now what do we do?" Edward said, putting me down. "We pick him up, obviously!" I said, laughing lightly. "We'll just use him to take us to these groups he has… we can not only disable him, but the groups he's affiliated with as well. This could be huge for global security." Edward smiled at my excitement, leaning down to plant his lips firmly on mine.

We didn't move to deepen the kiss, breaking apart a moment later. He smiled winningly at me, before grasping my hand in his and walking us back over to the table. James was sitting just as we'd let him, making me immediately suspicious, and also very thankful that I'd bugged our table.

After Edward pulled my chair out, I sat down, reaching over to take Edward's hand once he was seated. We looked at James for a few moments, before I saw Edward nod to me from the corner of my eye. Smiling, I returned my focus to James. "We've decided to formally ask you to partner with us. We have a few terms, of course…" I trailed off, allowing James a moment to respond.

"Just let me hear them." He said, smiling at us.

"We would be the ultimate owners of the file, and thus would determine it's final purchaser. We expect that you work with us, and not against us. We know that you wanted to get the file to one of your buyers, and this is still going to happen that way; it just has to be through us. We are prepared to offer you a 40% cut of whatever money we receive."

James nodded, "That all sounds fair." "Of course," Edward said, looking from me to James, "if this goes well, we would like to consider making this a permanent partnership. Isabella and I have been looking to settle down, and our life is a tad… hectic. If this works between us, perhaps we could make you our permanent buyer liaison. Though, we'd have to check your current buyers out, of course." Edward looked over and smiled at me, leaning over to press a sweet kiss to my cheek.

James smiled widely and nodded, "Of course, of course. I am really honored that you are willing to consider me." _Why so honored? He must have spoken to Jenks._

We ate the rest of our meal speaking about the current state of affairs in the world. James mentioned that he had connections to some very prominent "grass roots organizations".

_Terror by any other name is just as horrible, James._

We both exchanged numbers with James, making promises to meet up again sometime soon.

Edward and I walked out of the restaurant, hand in hand, smiles adorning our faces, and hailed a cab. The second the cab started driving, I swung my leg over Edward's lap, straddling him, reaching into my purse and holding the recording device in front of his eyes.

Of course, the damn thing was so small, he had no idea what I was holding up.

"What's that?" he asked, looking at me with a smile as he placed his hands on my hips to steady me. "Guess who recorded the lunch!" I said, smiling widely at him.

"You did? Thank god!" Edward said. "I had a feeling he had called someone while we were gone." "I got that feeling too, Edward." I said, smiling at him.

"Well," Edward said, burying his face into my neck and nipping at my skin, "that's why we work so well together." I smiled. "We do, don't we?"

Edward just nodded, nibbling at my skin a bit more, before settling down and simply nuzzling my neck. I leaned over, burying my face in his neck, closing my eyes.

Before I knew it, Edward was gently jostling me awake. I groaned quietly, pressing my head further into his neck. Edward lightly chuckled, leaning down to press kisses along the side of my face. "Wake up, my love." "No." I answered. Edward just laughed, pulling me tighter against him before handing the driver money and stepping out of the cab.

"Edward, this isn't the hotel." I said, staring at him, my legs wrapped tightly around his waist.

"I know that, Bright Eyes. We're on the Gulf of Thailand. I wanted to surprise you." Edward was looking at me, measuring my reaction to what he'd done.

"I am surprised Edward. I love that you did this; thank you." I smiled honestly at him, leaning up to press my lips to his.

After Edward lowered me to my feet, we walked over, reaching the sand sooner than I thought possible. There, spread out on the sand about thirty feet from the water, was a dark green blanket with a light brown basket on it. I looked up at Edward, questions in my eyes, and he just laughed and kissed me. "Yep, that's part of your surprise too."

I smiled, picking up the pace to reach the basket.

I don't know how long we had been driving for, but the sun was just starting to fall in the Thai sky, and I was shocked at the rumbling that was shaking my stomach.

It seemed like I had just eaten, but I was starving.

Walking over and plopping down on the blanket, I tried to keep myself from immediately digging into the basket until Edward got here.

Edward sat down behind me, pulling me into the space between his legs, before pulling the picnic basket in front of us.

"Go ahead," he said, his mouth at my ear, his hot breath fanning across my skin, "open it."

I flipped open the lid and was immediately confused.

"Edward…" I said, spinning slightly so I could face him, "why are there PB&J sandwiches, Hershey Kisses, Mentos, and bottles of Coke in here?"

Edward smiled at me.

"The peanut butter and jelly sandwiches reminded me of that story you told me about your dad. You told me that he used to make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every single day after you came inside from playing with Jake over the summer. You said it was the only thing that he could do without messing up, and the fact that he took the effort to make your sandwich made you realize that he really did love you."

Edward paused, taking a second to read my expression. I was completely stunned.

"The Hershey kisses make me think of you." He said, reaching up to brush my hair off of my neck and place his lips on my skin, "They make me think of the chocolate chip pancakes you made us the night after we first made love. The rich, dark chocolate color makes me think of your eyes. And the fact that I'm so completely addicted to them… well, I feel like that speaks for itself." Edward winked, and I blushed.

"As for the Mentos and Coke… well, as you can see, I have twenty two bottles in here; two are regular, and twenty are diet. The two regular Cokes are for us to drink with our fabulous meal." He smiled sheepishly at me, "The diets… well, those are for us to make our first destructive pseudo-childhood memory together."

I was shocked, completely stunned into silence.

I sat there looking at Edward, my heart hammering away in my chest. I wasn't sure what to say. I couldn't believe that he had done this for me. It was by far one of the sweetest things that someone had ever done for me, ever.

I couldn't believe that I had found someone so willing to do something like this for me. Yes, it hurt a little to think about Charlie, but I knew that this was Edward's way of slowly introducing him back into my life. I needed to patch things up with Charlie anyway… it was just a matter of time now.

"Edward…" I said, struggling to think of the right words. I sat for a moment, my brain a whirl of happiness, love, and sexual attraction, before I decided that words just wouldn't do. I spun my body completely around, getting up on my knees and planting my lips on Edward's.

We kissed for a few minutes before Edward broke the kiss, placing his forehead gently against mine. "I take it you like the surprise then?" he said, smiling at me. "Of course; I love it. I love you." I said, grinning at him. Edward's face broke into a heartbreaking smile. "I love you too, love." I bent forward and placed a kiss on his lips before spinning back around in his arms and reaching into the basket.

As we ate our sandwiches, I talked about Charlie.

"I miss him…" I said, trying to keep my eyes from filling with tears. "We were always so close, and now… I haven't spoken to him in years. I hate this." Edward was leaning his head on my shoulder, sensing that it was probably easiest for me to talk about this without looking at him.

All I needed was to know that he was there.

Edward finished his sandwich before I did and wrapped his arms securely around my waist as I continued to eat and talk.

"Once…" I said, laughter bubbling out of me, "when I was six, Charlie decided that he wanted to have a little party to celebrate my birthday with me before I went back to Renee. I was obsessed with James Bond Jr. at the time," Edward chuckled, "So fitting." I smiled, " I know. But so he went to the store and bought us both tuxedos and spray guns that he painted gold and we ran around my backyard for hours 'shooting' my friends from La Push that he'd dressed up like the villains from the show." I continued laughing as a few tears began trickling down my cheeks.

I reached up, wiping a few tears from my face, allowing the emotions I'd kept inside to really fall over me that moment.

I spun around in Edward's arms just moments before I started sobbing.

Edward wrapped his arms around me tightly, pulling me up into his chest, burying his face in my neck and just letting me cry it out.

I pressed myself into him, my face smooshed up against his shoulder as I cried. These weren't gentle, ladylike tears… if such things even exist. These were embarrassing, exhausting, gasping, all-consuming sobs.

Somehow, he knew that I didn't need him to tell me that everything would be okay or that I would figure everything out eventually. I already knew that. Edward decided not to waste his breath.

Eventually, my sobs slowed, trickling off to the occasional whimper, sniffle, or stray tear. I pulled back, wiping the remains of my breakdown from my face, my face heating up as I began to realize what a fool I'd just made of myself.

Edward brought his hand up to my face, "Don't be ashamed of showing me how you feel, love. I'm not happy that you feel this way, but I'm glad that you're letting yourself think about you father again… and that you feel comfortable enough to share your feelings with me like this."

I said that only think that I could say. "I love you, Edward."

Edward smiled at me, "I love you too. So much."

I sat in Edward's arms for a few more moments, just letting myself to think. I knew that I needed talk to Charlie; this tense avoidance between us couldn't continue. I loved my father, and I hated that we weren't talking anymore. I just wish that he'd taken the time to really listen to me when I told him that I needed to move out east and grow up on my own.

"I'm going to call him." I said, my locking with Edward's, "as soon as we get off this leg of the mission. As soon as I can." Edward smiling, pulling me into a hug, "It will be good for you." He whispered, his hot breath blowing across my neck. He hugged me close for a moment longer before he pulled back, his face glowing with excitement.

"Let's go make some coke bottles blow up." I smiled, jumping up when Edward took my hand.

We spent the next hour playing with twenty bottles of diet coke, dropping in the Mentos and laughing hysterically as the coke shot out of the top of the bottle. At one point, I dropped in a Mentos and turned on Edward, spraying the coke directly in his face. "I don't think so!" Edward shouted, dropping his Mentos in, and spraying me, chasing my around the beach trying to soak me through with Coke.

It eventually turned into a battle. We ran around the beach, spraying the hell out of each other with Coke. I ran out before Edward did, so I started pelting him with my left over Mentos and bottle caps. Edward ran over me, withstanding the beating I was inflicting on him (because I'm sure the bottle caps and Mentos were really hurting him) scooped me up in his arms before placing me on the ground covering my body with his.

"Stop hitting me." He said, his breathing labored, his hot, delicious breath fanning across my face, making me burn for him. "Stop shooting coke at me." I said, my hard breathing making me sound as defenseless as I felt.

Edward started laughing, before pulling himself off of me and hoisting me up. "Probably the first time you've ever said that to someone you were with, huh?" He placed a kiss on my temple, grabbing my hand, picking up our trash as we went.

We gathered our things before walking back to the street, where yet another car was waiting for us. We climbed in the back, gave the driver our address, before settling into the seats.

"We're in for a long ride." Edward said, leaning his back against the cab door before pulling me in between his legs, wrapping his arms around my waist. I settled my head against his chest, turning my face into Edward's neck and letting my eyes flutter closed.

The last thing I heard before I fell asleep was Edward's quiet, "I love you with all my heart, Bella." before I felt him rest his head on mine before, presumably, falling asleep.

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**What did you think? I heard from a lot of people I've never heard from before last chapter, and would love to hear from them again! (Of course, I love my tried and true reviewers too. Thank you all so much! :) )**

**So, what's the question of this update you ask?**

**Hmmm... what's the most romantic thing someone has ever done for you?**

**Mine? I haven't had anything happen. I've never been in a relationship. I avoid them like the plague.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi! I want to take a moment to thank everyone who's stuck with my through this story, and everyone who reviews! I know that I whole bunch of people have favorited this story and have it on alert (shuffling feet) too much to ask to hear from you guys?**

**Okay, so now that I'm done begging for reviews... here's the quote:**

**"He who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead; his eye are closed." - Albert Einstein**

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I woke sometime later to Edward's gentle words in my ear. His voice was soft, barely detectable through the other sounds that began flooding my consciousness, but I took a moment to really focus on what Edward was saying.

He was singing to me.

I didn't open my eyes, not wanting him to feel the fluttering of my eyelashes against his neck. Instead, I sighed, taking in his scent and listening to him sing to me quietly.

"_Wise men say only fools rush in_

_But I can't help falling in love with you_

_Shall I stay_

_Would it be a sin_

_If I can't help falling in love with you_

_Like a river flows surely to the sea_

_Darling so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be_

_Take my hand, take my whole life too_

_For I can't help falling in love with you_

_Like a river flows surely to the sea_

_Darling so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be_

_Take my hand, take my whole life too_

_For I can't help falling in love with you_

_For I can't help falling in love with you"_

I couldn't take it.

I pulled my face from his neck, smiling up at him. "I know you were awake, Bella." I smiled sheepishly at him. "I wanted to hear you finish the song." I said. Edward chuckled, "I would have kept singing for you if you'd told me you wanted me too."

"Good." I responded, smiling cheekily at him. He laughed, pressing a kiss to my lips, "We're almost here." He said leaning up slightly to look out the window he was leaning on.

We sat in silence, my body pressed up against his until we arrived at the hotel.

When we arrived, Edward handed the driver cash, asking me to apologize for the fact that he made him take us on such a long ride home. The driver just smiled at me, telling that it was nothing. "I just got enough money to buy my children some gifts." He'd said.

Edward's face cracked into a glorious smile when I'd told him, and he promptly reached into his wallet to give the man more cash.

The man smiled gratefully at us, thanking us profusely as we gathered up our stuff and got out of the cab.

We walked into the hotel, greeting the doorman and the concierge before stepping into the elevator. Normally, I would be trying some serious schmexing… right now, I just wanted to get upstairs and 'Under the Tuscan Sun' him.

I told him as much.

Edward chuckled, "You want to 'Under the Tuscan Sun' me?" he asked, looking at me like I was insane.

"Yep." I said, smiling, "I want to make love to you all over your body."

Edward smiled wickedly at me, "That seems like something I can get on board with." I winked, "I figured you'd see things my way."

"Don't I usually?" Edward asked, nuzzling my neck. "True. You learned fast." Edward started laughing, reaching over to slap my ass as I walked out of the elevator.

I smiled, reaching back to take Edward's hand as we walked to the room. Shutting the door quietly behind us, I lead him into the bedroom, turning him so he stood in front of me.

I stepped back, releasing his hand, taking a moment to look him over. My eyes drifted up and down his form, trying to take everything in. My eyes eventually settled on his face, which was pinked with a slight blush. I smiled at him, walking to him and wrapping my arms around his neck. I pulled my body flush against his, smiling when Edward bent his neck, pressing his forehead against mine.

"I love you." I whispered, pressing my forehead a bit more into his. "I love you too, Bright Eyes." He whispered back, "So, so much."

I ran my hands up his chest, taking his face in my hands before moving my lips to his. His lips were soft but persistent against mine, our mouths moving together in perfect harmony. I tangled my fingers in his hair as I ran my tongue along his lips, taking the time to explore the familiar spaces of his mouth when he granted me entrance.

Edward groaned quietly, my mouth trapping most of the sound, and I smiled against his lips, running my hands down his neck to the bottom of his t-shirt. I ran my hands up his chest, bringing the fabric up with my motions, breaking the kiss to pull the shirt over his head.

Edward reached for the ties on my sarong, but I knocked his hands out of the way, giving him a wry smile as I unbuttoned his pants, pushing them to the floor. He picked his feet up, kicking his pants across the room, sliding his boxers off his hips, allowing them to follow suit.

I chuckled at his enthusiasm, but moved out of his reach to take another look at him.

Edward saw me backing up and immediately moved to grab me back; I laughed, holding up my hand. "I just want to look at you." I said, smiling at him. He went silent then, nodding his agreement, and dropping his hands to his sides.

I dragged my eyes up the length of his body, his long, lean muscles filling him out in the most tantalizing of ways. His legs were strong, but not overwhelmingly bulky in the way that I suspected his brother's were. I, of course, also took a moment to admire his manhood. How I adored that particular part of his anatomy.

I felt him watching me stare at _him_, so I looked up and winked, quickly moving my eyes to his stomach.

His abs looked as though they were literally chiseled from granite, the hard lines moving rapidly due to the speed of his breath. I drew my eyes up his chest, allowing my gaze to caress the lines of his pectorals, before tracing the sides of his neck and the hard square of his jaw.

Avoiding his face, I ran my gaze down his arms, focusing on each individually, before my gaze settled on his hands. I loved his hands, and not only because of the amazing things that they have done to me.

I loved the masculine lines, the calluses that he had on the tips of each finger that I suspected he got from playing a stringed instrument. I loved the little bits of dirt that he almost always seemed to have under his index fingers… there was just something so raw and masculine about the whole thing.

His fingers were long and slender… 'piano playing fingers' as my grandmother used to call them. I bet he played. I would kill to hear him play.

I finally allowed my eyes to meet his again, and the emerald green of his eyes looked to be on fire. He stared back at me for only a few moments, before meeting me across the room in a few steps, smashing my body up against his, immediately bringing his mouth to mine.

I could tell that he was struggling to keep his desire in check; he knew how I wanted this night to be as romantic as it had started out. But I knew the way that his body was reacting right now; if I wanted to slow this down, I would have to do it now.

I smiled into the kiss, slowing the movements of his mouth against mine by slowing my own movements. Edward caught on, and I felt the heat under his skin sink to a slow burn, and I leaned back, grinning at him.

I walked him backwards, pushing him onto the bed before stepping back. Edward fell onto the bed with a quiet bump, and quickly slid himself up towards the pillows, putting his hands behind his head and watching me.

I winked at him, moving my hands behind my neck and untying the knots on my dress, allowing the fabric to slowly slide down my curves. I watched Edward slowly lick his lips and I laughed, reaching back to undo my bra clasp. I slid my bra from my shoulders, and slid my underwear down my legs, kicking them towards Edward's pants.

His eyes were on fire then, matching the fire I'm sure was burning in mine. I slowly crawled my way up his body, allowing myself to hover above him, completely reversing the roles we usually took. Edward smiled up at me, and I stooped down, placing quick kisses along my neck, and traced the lines of his neck with my tongue. He arched his neck up, his hips thrusting up involuntarily. I smiled at him, kissing his lips, before peppering kisses along his chin, down his neck, and across his chest. I traced my tongue along his pecs, and along the lines of his abs, trying to taste every inch of his skin.

I could hear his breath picking up as I approached his pelvis, and I decided to tease him just a bit. I moved my body down so that I was hovering just over his dick. I leaned down, allowing my breath to float down over him, giving him just a taste of what was to come. No pun intended… (I even nibbled on that sexy little 'v' just for some extra torture).

I looked up at him, and I could tell that he was trying to control himself. The sensation of my breath floating over him was probably driving him crazy though, so I decided to relieve some of that… tension.

I leaned down and licked up his length, allowing my tongue to play along the spot just under the head, before completely taking him into my mouth. Edward's moan was loud and unrestrained, and I resisted the urge to smile, reminding myself to keep doing what I was doing.

I bobbed up and down for a few minutes, keeping Edward just far enough from the point of orgasm to get him completely frustrated.

I pulled my lips off of him with a pop, winking at him before I kissed his pelvic bone and the inside of his thighs, moving further down his body. I kissed the backs of his knees, the sides of his ankles, and even kissed both of his little toes before leaning back on my heels and smiling at him.

"My turn." Edward said, his voice deeper and rougher than usual. He shot off the bed, grabbing me in his arms and throwing my up to the pillows before sitting where I had. I climbed off the bed, standing at the end, staring at me just as I had him.

His eyes moved over my body, taking their time to memorize every line, every freckle, every scar. My body was on fire under his gaze, and I could feel myself become almost impossibly wet as he continued to look at me. Edward took a play out of my playbook, crawling up my body until his face was directly over mine.

He leaned down, kissing my lips for a few minutes before he began kissing my cheeks and jaw, moving slowly to my neck.

After licking the length of my collarbone, Edward dipped his head, teasing my breasts with his mouth. He looked at me, smiling wickedly, before taking my left breast in his hand, his mouth covering my right nipple; his gentle suckling caused me to moan out in pleasure. He switched breasts a few minutes later, the sensations causing me to rub my legs together in an attempt to relieve some of the ache that was slowly taking over between my legs.

Edward smiled against my skin, no doubt feeling my legs moving against him. He kissed his way across the soft skin of my stomach, slowly moving his body between my legs, making room for himself by gently nudging my legs apart. Edward kissed along my pelvic bone, completely ignoring my sex, kissing along my thighs before slowly kissing and caressing his way down my right leg, kissing pieces of my skin that had never been paid much attention before. When he reached the end of my right leg, he switched to my left, kissing his way back up, tracing patterns on my thigh with his tongue, his hot breath teasing me in the best of ways. I groaned in frustration, and instead of responding, Edward spread my folds and traced his longue around my clit.

I moaned at an impossibly loud volume, arching my hips up into his mouth. Edward chuckled quietly against his skin before immediately getting back to work. Bringing his mouth up, he covered my clit with his lips, bringing his fingers up and easing two inside me as he flicked his tongue back and forth against my flesh.

I came apart at the seams.

Edward let me ride out my orgasm, before climbing up my body again, kissing me fervently. I could still taste myself on his tongue, which shockingly turned me on.

I kissed him back, smiling slightly before breaking the kiss, and wrapping my arms around his neck, bringing his forehead to rest on mine.

"Make love to me, Edward." I said, my body practically dying to feel him inside me.

Edward kept his forehead pressed to mine as he eased himself inside me, moving slowly with me as we allowed our pleasure to build.

This wasn't loud, exclamatory sex. This wasn't about getting pleasure from someone else. This was about showing each other that we loved each other… that we couldn't live without each other.

With little gasps of pleasure every now and then, Edward and I moved together towards our release.

Sometime later, Edward collapsed onto the bed beside me, rolling off me before pulling me up into his chest. I snuggled against him, whispering how much I loved him, kissing his chest. Edward began singing "Can't Help Fallin' In Love" to me again, and I allowed my eyes to shut, letting myself absorb his deep voice.

Suddenly, the harsh ringing of Edward's cell phone broke through our moment. Edward groaned, placing me on the pillows before climbing out of bed to grab the phone from his pants. "Cute ass, baby." I said, winking at him when he turned around. Edward rolled his eyes at me, climbing back into bed with the phone in his hand, crushing me to him before he answered.

"Edward Cullen." He said, his voice a bit deeper than usual; I recognized this as his business tone. "Ah, yes, Riley… we've been waiting for your call."

_Riley…? Oh yes, the man that we were trying to buy this file off of. Fantastic. _

"Yes, we are still interested in acquiring the file. We've actually paired up with James Conklin, if you weren't already aware." I smiled up at him, quietly kissing his chest as he spoke.

"We would actually like to meet with you as soon as possible…. Yes, we understand that you need to be highly selective… we would like to get the initial conversation out of the way as quickly as possible…. Well, we have a lot of buyers waiting, Mr. Cohan."

I couldn't help but wonder what Edward was arranging right now. I usually never met with the people I was supposed to purchase things from until the actual buying event. Though, I guess talking to him a lot beforehand would increase our credibility, and make us more favorable when he thought about whom he and Victoria wanted to sell to.

"You'll be in London in three days? Perfect…. Yes, we'll be there. Noon? Okay, fantastic. See you then." Edward said, his smile impossibly wide as he shut the phone.

"We're going to London?" I asked, kissing his chest. "Yes," Edward said, smiling down at me, "I get to show you where I'm from."

"Let's fly out tomorrow."

The next morning at ten, Edward and I were hailing a cab to the airport.

"You called James and told him we were going to London, yes?" I said, making sure that all our bases were covered. "Yes, just this morning. He said that he would be there soon as well if we wanted to meet up."

We climbed into the cab, giving the driver directions, and I leaned under Edward's arm, cuddling into his side. "He's going to be in London too… is he going to meet with Riley by himself? Is he going to try and go around us?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to expect that." Edward said, looking down at me. "We told Riley that we're partnering with James… all he would have to do is go and say that we sent him to pick up the file and he'd have it… without even paying for it." My mind was spiraling out of control, coming up with every possible thing that could go wrong. It wasn't that I was worried about everything going wrong… I just knew that I needed to be prepared for anything.

"Do you really think he would do that?" Edward asked, looking down at me.

I laughed, "He works with terrorists, Edward." Edward chuckled, "I guess you're right." "Aren't I always?" I quipped, smiling at him. "Too often for your own good." Edward replied, kissing me once.

I smiled, leaning my head against him, allowing my mind to wander. I detailed the situation in my mind, tracing all the people involved, and all the connections that existed. I then carefully analyzed the situation, trying to think of every single thing that could go wrong.

There were a lot of things.

Riley and Victoria could sell the file to someone else; James could go behind our backs and steal the file; we could be found out; we could get killed….

The list became almost unmanageably long.

Once I had everything mapped out, I looked up at Edward.

He smiled down at me like I was the most important thing in his world… and maybe I was. Who knows? He was definitely the most important thing in mine.

I didn't know what I would do if I planned out something or I said something that ended up putting us in a situation that would cause him harm. I knew that if I told Edward this, he would just laugh and say something along the lines of, 'I'll be fine as long as I know you're safe' or whatever… but I would rather take a bullet than have to watch him suffer like that.

All I knew was that I couldn't lose Edward. Not even for a second.

We climbed out of the cab and walked into the airport, making it through security with just twenty minutes before our flight boarded. Laughing, Edward grabbed my heaviest bag, slinging it over his shoulder and took off, running through the airport towards our gate. I wrapped my fingers around the strap of my messenger bag so it wouldn't fly around and I took off after him.

We reached our gate a few minutes later, dropped our bags, and I wandered off to find coffee. I found the nearest coffee shop, and after I placed my order, I took a moment to look around at the people that were milling around the airport. Suddenly, I saw someone who looked exactly like James walk into the shop. I reached into my bag, pulling out a portable microphone, much like the one I wore, and secured it to my finger. I grabbed my coffees off the counter and walked to the front, looking at James the entire time. Once I realized for sure it was him, I said, "James!"

James spun on his heel, looking very nervous, before clearing his features and looking at me. "Isabella! How are you?" I walked forward and wrapped my arms around his neck, pressing the microphone to his skin before pulling back. "I'm well. Edward and I are flying home today. I didn't realize you were flying somewhere. Where are you going?" I smiled innocently at him, trying to get him to lie to me.

"I'm flying into Quebec today." He said, "My flight leaves in an hour."

"Oh, well have fun! My flight leaves in five minutes, otherwise, I'd stay and chat. Enjoy your time in Quebec!" I said, walking swiftly from the shop.

I walked past an arrival/departure board on my way back to the gate and I let my eyes scan it quickly.

No flights for Quebec leaving in an hour. Just one for London… interesting.

"I think James is following us back to London." I said, handing Edward his coffee when I reached the gate. He was standing in line; they must have called our boarding number while I was gone. I reached for my duffle and Edward moved it out of my reach, smiling at me.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, handing our tickets to the woman at the desk. "I saw him at the coffee shop; he told me that he was getting on a flight for Quebec in an hour… but there are no flights to Quebec today. There is, however, a flight for London in an hour."

"Hmm." Edward sipped his coffee thoughtfully as we walked on the plane, handing it to me as he stored our overhead luggage. He plopped down next to me, immediately moving up our seat divider and pulling me into his side. "I have to agree with your hunch here." He said, taking another sip of his coffee. "The way he phrased his flight plans made it seem like he was just flying to Quebec, not catching a connection to Quebec."

I nodded against him, sipping at my coffee. "It makes me think that he's definitely going to try and go behind our backs with this."

"Well then," Edward said, looking down at me with a smile, "we'll just have to outsmart him." I chuckled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. We sipped our coffees in silence, listening as the flight information was read. We had an hour-long layover in Frankfurt, and would be landing there in about six hours. We would then catch a forty-minute flight to Heathrow, putting us in London around nine.

I had no idea how far from Heathrow Edward lived, but I just assumed we would be at his place by ten at the latest.

It was a good idea that I got this coffee so that I could keep myself going today.

As the flight took off, I reached into my bag, pulling out one of the MadLibs books that Edward had gotten me on our flight to Bangkok.

"Okay, baby… give me the name of a person in the room…"

Ten minutes later, I was laughing hysterically.

"Dear Bella," I read, looking at him, trying to contain my laughter, "It has come to my Breast that you are the Best girl/boy in the Bed. My Penis starts Fucking a Pussy every time you speak. I would like to Lick if you want to go to the Wedding with me next Friday. If you Love please Suck me at the London, England in Ten Hours. I Screw you and everything about you. Lovingly, Edward"

We both started cracking up, "That was wonderfully dirty." Edward said, leaning down and nuzzling my neck. "That it was." I said, chuckling at him, "I can't believe it worked out."

Edward laughed, and kissed my neck twice before pulling back. "So when I called Em and Rose and told them we were coming home, they insisted that we go out with them tonight."

"Oh did they?" I asked, smiling at him. "They did." He said, chuckling.

"What exactly does that entail?" I asked, looking at him. "They want to go out to some club tonight… apparently a new one just opened up a few minutes from where we live." I rolled my eyes, "Edward, I can't dance."

"Nonsense," he said, smiling at me, "we danced on New Years. We'll just get you good and juiced and then you won't care at all." I laughed, "That's your plan? Get me so plastered I don't care that I look like an idiot?" Edward smiled, "Exactly, love." I laughed and hit his chest, pretending to struggle against him when he wrapped his arms around me and began kissing my neck.

I sighed, letting myself soak up the feeling of Edward's lips on my skin. It was something that I hoped I would never tire of. His skin on mine set off electric pulses through my skin, keeping me alert and ready for him at all times. I was absolutely addicted to the feeling.

I scooted myself closer to Edward burying my face in his neck and breathing him in. "Bella… did you just smell me?" Edward asked, his voice full of humor. "Yep." I replied, breathing him in again.

"Well, what do I smell like?" he asked, chuckling. "Hmm…" I said, making a show of rubbing my chin and looking towards the sky in a faux thinking pose, "you smell like spice, the woods, fresh cut grass, the air right after it rains, and man." Edward laughed then, burying his face in my hair and taking a breath.

"Edward… did you just smell me?" I mocked, smiling at him. "I did." He said, smiling down at me. "You smell like strawberries and chocolate." He said, smiling at me. I laughed and kissed his jaw.

"So are we really going out tonight?" I looked up at him hesitantly. "Yep; you'll love it, I promise. Emmett and Rose really know how to party. They've had to slow down a little since Rose had Trevor, but they still go pretty hard."

"Trevor is their son?"

"Yes, they had him about a year after they got married. I absolutely adore him. Though, I wish I were around a bit more so that I could be a better uncle." Edward sighed, and rested his head on mine. I reached up and tangled my fingers in his hair, running my fingers soothingly along his scalp. "I'm sure they don't blame you, Edward." I said, pulling myself up to place small kisses along his jaw.

"I know they don't." Edward said, leaning his head into my fingers, "I just want my nephew to know who I am." "Oh, baby…" I leaned up and placed my lips on his, trying to assure him that everything was going to be alright.

Edward kissed me back, his mouth hot and persistent against mine. He ran his tongue along my lip, asking me for entrance.

_As though he even needed to ask._

I opened my mouth, allowing Edward to explore my mouth, our tongues rolling over each other in a fantastically tantalizing fashion.

I could have jumped him right now if not for the fact that we were in the middle of an airplane.

_Not that it stopped me the first time…_

I eventually broke the kiss, my breath coming out in quick pants as I pressed my forehead to his. "You have to stop doing this to me in public places." I said, lightly chuckling through my pants. Edward laughed, "You think I'm faring any better?"

I reached my hand down and cupped the front of his pants. Edward's eyes rolled back into his head, and he bit his lip, trying to bite back a moan, "Nope, I'd say we're in about the same situation." I said, winking at him.

Edward opened his eyes and it looked like he was trying to decide whether or not he wanted to just have sex with me already or kill me so I couldn't tease him anymore.

I winked at him and snuggled up against him, putting my face back into his neck (it was rapidly becoming "my place" on him), and smiled.

"Not nice, Bright Eyes." Edward said, trailing his fingers up and down my spine. I smiled, "I know." I said, kissing his neck.

"But okay…" I pulled my face from his neck, "What's the deal with tonight?" Edward laughed, "We're going to my place, dropping our stuff, going out to this new club, then going back to my flat." Edward leaned closer, pressing his lips to the shell of my ear, "And once we get there, I'm going to fuck you senseless."

I nearly came.

I reached up and slapped his chest, groaning quietly at his words.

The rest of the flight continued in that fashion.

We talked about the mission, our plans for the night, what Edward wanted to show me in London, and we teased each other mercilessly. By the end of the plane ride, Edward and I were both so sexually frustrated, we could probably have used all the pent up energy to power the entire globe for a few years.

Getting off the plane in Frankfurt was like getting a dose of fresh air. As we walked through the airport, listening to the German flourish around us, the sexual tension between the two of us was reduced to a quiet hum, still present, but moved into the background of our minds, replaced with an intense hunger that had formed over the course of the day.

We wandered the airport, stopping at a small restaurant just outside our next gate. The place was a small chain in Germany and served some relatively decent food. Not the best German food I'd ever had, but pretty good for a chain.

We sat in the back, at a table alongside a wall of windows, watching the planes take off and land as we ate our dinner.

"Are you going to call Charlie when we get to London?" Edward asked, looking nervously at me as he took a bite of his food. "I've been thinking about it. It will be one o'clock in Forks when we finally get to London… and my dad shouldn't be working today…"

I sipped on my soup, trying to avoid thinking about it. "I think you should. At least call him saying that you want to talk. Even if you don't talk about the situation now, at least you'll be making plans to talk." I sighed, moving my spoon around inside the bowl.

"I know that you're right…" I said, looking over at him, "I just don't know if I'm ready to talk to Charlie yet. I mean, what if he doesn't want to talk to me ever again?"

I bit my lip, trying to control myself.

"Bella…" Edward's voice was soft, yet commanding. I looked up at him, the emotion swimming in his eyes holding my gaze. "Charlie would never be able to cut you out of his life. You are the most amazing person I know… how could anyone want you out of their lives?" I smiled at him, leaning across the table to kiss him. He cradled my face between his hands, making the soft, simple kiss last just a bit longer than I had intended.

When I pulled back, I was blushing.

We finished our meal quickly, walking back over to the gate to find that we were boarding. We got on the plane, and I snuggled up to Edward, deciding that I was going to take a quick nap so that I would be completely rested for what was probably going to be a life-changing conversation with my father. That, and this night out… yeah, definitely not excited about that.

I pressed my face into Edward's skin, breathing in his scent, falling asleep to the quiet sounds of Edward singing "Can't Help Fallin' In Love".

About forty minutes later, I woke up to Edward's hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me awake as he pressed kisses along my jaw line. I sighed, leaning into his kisses, smiling when he chuckled quietly. "Come on love, we're here."

I immediately flew out of my sleepy mentality, and jumped up out of my seat, grabbing my bag from the floor in front of me. "Let's go! Let's go!" I said, jumping around. Edward laughed and grabbed our bags from the overhead before taking my hand, letting me lead us from the plane.

Once we were out at the gate, Edward pulled out his phone.

"Hey, Em. We just landed." He said, looking down at me and squeezing my hand. I smiled back up at him. I couldn't believe we were here.

"You're here right?" Edward asked, laughing. Emmett said something to Edward and Edward smiled at me, my hand still in his, as he walked us through the airport.

He talked to Emmett for a few more minutes before hanging up, but I was lost in my own little world.

I was here… in London. Going to Edward's home. I would get to see where he slept, meet the people that filled his every day life. I would get to sleep in his sheets.

I would get to walk through his house, and see how he decorated the place. I would have a chance to really understand him… in the way that seeing someone's material possessions can demonstrate.

I was practically jumping out of my skin with excitement.

I somehow managed to control myself as we walked through the airport.

We finally reached the exit, and I immediately spotted Emmett and Rosalie standing over near a gorgeous Audi. Edward waved in acknowledgement to his brother and his sister-in-law, and I noticed that he picked up a bit of speed as we walked.

Edward bent to kiss Rose on the cheek, while Emmett scooped me up in a hug. "Hey little one!" he said, his booming laughter in my ear nearly deafening me. I laughed, hugging Emmett back with as much gusto as I could muster, trying to forget about that my feet were nowhere near the ground.

Edward laughed behind me, "Em, let her down. I can't take a chance of you accidentally hurting her." Emmett just laughed, but placed me down on my feet. I smiled at Rose, before walking over to her, somewhat surprised when she wrapped her arms around me neck. "Great to see you again, Bella." She said, "I hope Edward's been behaving himself?" I laughed and gave her a wry smile, "You've met him, haven't you?" I said, smiling.

"Hey!" Edward said, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my neck, "It's your fault. I can't help myself around you." I just laughed, but snuggled back into him for a moment, before pulling away to toss my stuff in the car.

Edward opened the back door of the Audi for me, climbing in after me. I noticed that Emmett also opened the door for Rose.

Their mother certainly raised them correctly.

I smiled to myself; I hope I have some time to meet his parents while I'm here in London.

Rose turned around in her seat once Emmett got the car rolling. "You're coming out with us tonight, aren't you?" she asked, smiling widely at me. I nodded, "Edward's making me. I can't dance though… just a warning." Rosalie laughed. "Love, we're going to be so sloshed, we won't bloody care." I laughed, "Thank goodness."

Rose and I chatted the rest of the way back to what I assumed to be Edward's apartment. She told me all about her son, and all the crazy things that had happened to their lives once they had him. Even though it seemed like a large part of their lives was over, I could tell that Rose wouldn't trade Trevor for anything. It was clear that she loved that boy, and the man she'd married, more than anything.

A few times during my conversation with Rose, I looked up at Edward to find that he was looking between the two of us with a shocked look on his face.

I would have to ask him what the deal was later.

We finally got to Edward's place, and amid shouts from Rose and Emmett that we "better get our shit in gear" because we were "hitting the town in two hours", we gathered our things from the trunk and walked into the building.

As we got into the elevator, I looked over at Edward, "What was that look for in the car?" I asked, hoping he knew what I meant. "She loves you." Edward said, looking stunned.

I laughed, "Thanks, baby." I said, rolling my eyes. "No! I didn't mean it like that!" Edward said, immediately backtracking, "I've just never seen her accept someone so quickly. I told you she was a total axe wound… when we first met, she refused to say more than three words to me at any given family gathering. And those three words were usually cruel, sarcastic ones. I was just shocked that she completely opened up to you."

"People just like me more than you, baby. It's something you'll have to get used to." The elevator opened, and I walked off into the small waiting area outside Edward's door.

He grabbed my waist, tickling me, before walking over to open the door. I noted that his security system was very similar to mine. Only in a relationship between spies would this be important.

I followed him into his apartment, immediately overcome with how gorgeous it was. You'd think a gorgeous place wouldn't shock me, given the extravagance of where I lived… but I always managed to find a way to appreciate someone else's space.

And Edward's place _was_ amazing.

"Just make yourself at home. I'll go place our bags in my room." Edward smiled at me and walked off, disappearing down a hallway. I walked around, passing his kitchen, taking a moment to admire all the stainless steel appliances that he'd chosen.

I walked back out into the open area, and was immediately drawn to the piano I had somehow managed to miss.

Edward had a large black grand piano placed in the middle of what I'm assuming was supposed to be the living room. The wall behind the piano was made entirely of glass, and you were able to see the most amazing shot of London's skyline. I walked over to the piano, plopping myself down on the bench, before running my fingers ever so softly across the ivories.

I smiled to myself, the feeling of the keys under my fingers bringing back so many memories.

My mother had purchased a small upright when I was a child, which we kept in the sunroom in our house in Phoenix. She'd 'learned to play' on a whim when I was six; the only song that she could play without a music book was "Claire de Lune".

I always thought that was funny. She couldn't play me "Frosty the Snowman", but she could play me a complicated Debussy piece. It was just like her.

Of course, because my mother had played "Claire de Lune" so many times, and even managed to teach me to play it, I knew the piece by heart.

My fingers began moving along the keys, the music feeling as though it was literally flowing through my fingertips. And even though I was in London, I was immediately transported back to warm and sunny Phoenix, and even the rainy haven of Forks.

I thought about how I used to run around the sunroom, dancing about as my mother played. I thought about how she used to sit me on her lap, put my tiny fingers over hers and slow the song down to about quarter speed and let me play with her.

I thought about how I used to sit in the living room with Charlie for _hours_ trying to teach him how to play on the keyboard he'd bought me.

He never did pick it up.

Trying to avoid crying, I threw myself back into the song, the notes once again swimming through my nerves, taking over my brain, and charging my thoughts.

I smiled to myself, bowing my head slightly over the keys once I was done playing, letting the notes ring out in the air.

"That was beautiful."

I spun around, finding Edward leaning against a wall diagonal to the piano. I can't believe I didn't notice him come in.

"Who taught you how to play?" He asked, walking over and sitting beside me on the bench. "My mother." I answered, scooting over and placing my head on his shoulder.

He reached up, wiping a tear from my cheeks that I hadn't even noticed had fallen, before kissing my cheek. "You going to call Charlie?" he asked quietly, turning so that he could rest his forehead on mine. I closed my eyes, trying to block the tears I knew wanted to fall. I nodded, my head moving against his.

I opened my eyes and saw that Edward was wearing a glorious smile. "I'm so proud of you." He placed his hands on either side of my face, pressing a kiss to my lips, before pressing our foreheads together again. "You'll feel better, I promise you. And he will be so happy to hear from you. But remember, I'm here if you need me." Edward got up off the piano bench and walked into the kitchen, coming back with a cordless phone.

He reached out for my hand and led me into the living room, sitting me down on one of the leather couches and placing the phone firmly in my palm. "You know the international code, right?" he asked, looking down at me, the concern flickering behind his eyes. I nodded, looking at the phone in my hand, trying to fight off the panic that was rising in my chest.

I hadn't had a panic attack since I started working for the CIA… I wasn't about to start now.

"Do you want me to stay…?" Edward asked, cocking his head at me. I nodded, still unable to speak and held my hand out to him. Edward smiled sadly at me, and walked over, sitting on the couch next to me. I pulled myself up into his lap and looked at the phone lying in my palm.

I buried my head in his neck, clicking on the phone and dialing the number, holding my breath as I placed the earpiece to my head.

I kept my face buried in Edward's neck until I heard the phone click on.

"Hello?"

I had to physically resist the urge to hang up.

Just hearing my dad's voice brought tears to my eyes, the tears dripping down my face and onto the skin of Edward's neck. Edward wrapped his arms tighter around my waist, and kissed my head, whispering quiet words of encouragement to me.

I kissed his neck softly, before pulling my face away, resting it on his shoulder instead.

"Hello…?" Charlie said again, getting suspicious now. "Hi… dad… it's me. Bella." I said, my voice breaking.

"Oh, Bells!" Charlie said, sounding legitimately happy, "How are you? I haven't talked to you in way too long, baby girl." I chuckled quietly, "I know dad. I'm really sorry… we just fought so badly… I…" I couldn't continue, the tears were rolling down my cheeks, spilling onto Edward's shirt.

"Bella, I want you to listen to me." Charlie said, his voice holding all the "small-town cop authority" I'd missed so much. "I know what happened between us. I know that we both said some things that we didn't mean. I realize now that you said what you needed to to get me to let you grow up. And you know, Bells? I'm glad you said those things. You've grown into a woman I'm proud of… Jake tells me everything about you... well, the things that he can tell me anyway." Charlie chuckled, and I sniffled a laugh, wiping my cheeks. Edward squeezed me up against him, kissing my head, before resting his head on mine, his fingertips absently playing with the ends of my hair.

"Bella," Charlie said, "I love you. And I am proud of you. You're living the life you've always dreamed… and as your father, I couldn't be happier." His voice became quiet, "I'm not upset with you… I just didn't want to pressure you into talking to me again." He said, sounding a little hurt.

"Dad! I was always ready to talk. I wanted to apologize the minute the words had come out of my mouth…" I said, shocked that he thought I didn't want to talk to him. "I knew you needed to say them, Bella. I needed to let you grow up. And you did. But that doesn't mean that we can't make up for lost time."

I smiled, "I'd like that, Dad." I looked up at Edward, who was smiling brilliantly at me. "Want me to go?" he whispered. I shook my head, wrapping my arm around his neck and playing with his hair. "So what's new, Bells? I noticed you're calling internationally. What are you doing in London?" "I'm on a business trip, dad." I said, hoping that he understood.

_He knows I work for the fucking CIA… there are only so many things I could be doing internationally._

"Ahhh, wonderful, Bells." I laughed, burying my face in Edward's neck. "Yes, it is, Dad." I said, smiling at Edward. "Where are you staying?" he asked, sounding legitimately worried about my wellbeing. "I'm actually staying with my business partner… my boyfriend Edward."

Boyfriend didn't feel like the right word, but it was close enough to what I was trying to convey.

"I'm your boyfriend?" Edward whispered, smiling at me. "Only if I'm your girlfriend." I whispered back, covering the receiver. Edward smiled wickedly at me, leaning down to kiss me firmly.

"Your boyfriend, huh?" Charlie asked; he was in full-on father mode.

"He there?" Charlie asked. I laughed, "Yep, you want to talk to him?" I asked, smiling at Edward. He looked like he wanted to kill me.

"Put him on." Charlie said. I smiled and handed Edward the phone. "Baby? My dad wants to talk to you." Edward frowned, but took the phone from my hand.

"Hello Chief Swan, this is Edward Cullen." I smiled at the formal tone in his voice, smiling because I knew that Charlie was going to make it his personal mission to knock him down a few pegs.

_I wonder what he's saying to him right now._

"Of course, sir." Edward said… "Er- Of course, Charlie." Edward smiled down at me, placing a quiet kiss on my forehead, "More than my life, Charlie."

Whatever Charlie said next must have been funny, because Edward began laughing, "I plan on it, Charlie; the sooner the better, really. Though, getting her to agree right now may be a tad difficult." I could hear Charlie's laugh through the phone, followed by some mumbled words. Edward and Charlie talked for a few more minutes before Edward handed me back the phone, kissed my forehead, and stood up.

"I'm going to go get ready. Want me to pick you out something?" I nodded, blowing him a kiss, taking a moment to admire his ass as he walked away.

I heard my dad clearing his throat, and I laughed. "What do you think, dad?" I asked, the smile evident in my voice. "I like him, Bells. He really loves you." I smiled, the blush flooding my cheeks. "I know it. I love him too, dad."

"I'm glad you're so happy, Bella. It really means so much to me." I smiled, "Thank you, dad."

We chatted for a few more minutes, Charlie telling me about his budding relationship with Sue Clearwater, a woman from the reservation near Forks, and relating some fishing stories from a few recent trips with Billy, Jake's dad.

Before hanging up, Charlie told me to call him as soon as I could, and make sure that I was able to make it out to Forks sometime soon.

Smiling, I hung up, walking out of the family room, and hung the phone up on the hook in kitchen. "Edward?" I called, trying to figure out where his bedroom was. "Down the hall, past the family room, last door on the right." He called back.

I walked down the hall, finding Edward standing in front of the bed, clothes laid out on his black comforter. I chuckled, taking in the scene.

"Baby?" Edward just turned around and smiled at me.

"I'm picking out our clothes!" He was smiling and looked so proud of himself. Edward had a pair of black jeans and a gray button up laid out for himself, and was currently staring into my bag trying to figure out what to pick for me without seeming too presumptuous.

I smiled, reaching into my bag, pulling out a pair of strappy silver heels and a black backless dress that hit me about mid-thigh. Edward looked like I'd just slapped him with a brick. "You're going to wear… that?" he asked, staring at me, his mouth gaping open.

"Just think…" I said, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him flush against me, "I'll be dancing up against you all night in that."

I winked at him, dragging him into bathroom so we could shower and start our night out on the town.

* * *

**Like how the story is progressing? What do you think about Charlie/Bella's make up?**

**And my question for you... any fun nights out on the town?**

**My friend and I went out one night and met a few players on my universities basketball team. It was AWESOME! It was the best night out we had all year. Feel free to share your night out story!**

**But I'm serious about the reviews. I'M BEGGINGGGGGG! Please? :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**YEP, I royally suck. I apologize to those of you whom I told that the chapter would be up a week ago. Yeah, that clearly didn't happen. Life got in the way.**

**I hope you all enjoy this... I WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Please? :)**

**Quote of the Update:**

**"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."  
_-St. Augustine_**

**Enough said. Now onto the chapter!**

* * *

After our shower, I pushed Edward out of the bathroom so I could sit and work on my hair and makeup without the pressure of him watching me. I wanted Edward to be surprised with the final product.

That fact that we were together and stable (as stable as a relationship between two spies could be) didn't mean that I didn't want to surprise him from time to time.

"Baby," I said, sticking my head out the door before I put anything on, "can you hand me my clothes?" Edward was standing at the end of his bed, his black jeans hanging low on his hips, showing off his gorgeous body.

_Why do we even need to go out? Can't I just stay here and have sex with him all night?_

Edward noticed my oogling, cocking me a crooked smirk before handing me my dress and shoes and planting a kiss on my lips. "I can't wait to see you in that, Bright Eyes." He said, smiling down at me. I hung the dress up on the back of the door, tossed the shoes on the floor, and jumped out of the bathroom and slapping Edward's ass.

He spun around on his heel, "Oh, you'll pay for that, baby." He said, his voice dropping an octave. "What are you going to do…" I asked, my own voice husky, as I sauntered back into the bathroom, "spank me?" I asked, stopping to look over my shoulder and wink at him.

I saw Edward take a few rushed steps towards the door, and I let out a laugh, slamming the door shut and locking it. Edward placed his hands against the door, slapping them lightly against the wood a few times.

"Come on out, Bright Eyes…" Edward said, his voice husky, smooth, and as seductive as ever. I smiled, "Not a chance, baby." I said, plopping my makeup bag down on the counter, grabbing out various products and setting them on the counter before setting the bag aside.

Edward tapped on the door again as I smoothed powder over my face, "Please, baby? I won't be too rough… and I won't bite… unless you ask." He said. I could practically hear the smile I'm sure was gracing his features. "Nuh-uh, baby. Go get dressed." I said, laughing lightly. Edward jiggled the doorknob a few more times before he gave up.

"You will be spanked for this, Miss Swan." Edward said, his voice authoritative and hot as hell, "I do not appreciate, nor tolerate, insubordinate behaviour."

If I were wearing panties, they would have just been soaked through.

I hurried to finish my makeup, taking as little time as possible to perfect the smoky-eye look I was going for. I ran a curling iron through my pre-formed curls, taking them from the soft waves they normally fell in to more defined ringlets that rolled down my back.

I took a moment to admire myself in my undergarments (the likes of which would certainly give Edward a heart attack when he saw them tonight) before slipping my dress on, making sure that it was laying the way I liked.

I slid my shoes on, did a quick spin, and clicked the lock off on the door.

Not a moment after I had clicked the lock, the door flew open, and Edward was standing there, his eyes raking up and down my form.

Reaching out for my hand, Edward moved my arm slightly over my head, turning me slowly so that he could look at me.

I had never felt so hot under someone's gaze.

Once Edward had seen me from every angle, he pulled me roughly up against him, his hand settling on the bare skin of my lower back, his fingers toying with the top of my panties just under the top of the dress. "You look gorgeous, baby." Edward growled in my ear before attaching his lips to my neck, making a point to suck gently, no doubt trying to form a mark.

I let him give me a small hickey (mostly because I knew what having a physical sign of his ownership of me (and he did own me, just like I owned him) would turn him on beyond belief) before I pushed him off of me, and took him in.

The silver button up was tight across his shoulders, emphasizing his broad shoulders and chest. It shaped itself around his pecs beautifully, falling over the area that I knew was home to the most gorgeous set of abs I'd ever had the pleasure of seeing… or tracing with my tongue.

Whichever.

I lifted my heels of the ground a bit, planting a kiss on his lips, which Edward immediately deepened.

As his tongue moved languidly with mine, I could hear the obnoxious sound of Edward's ringtone. I pulled away, resting my head on his shoulder with a groan as he brought the phone up to his ear.

"Yes?" he asked, his voice short. I had to smile then; we both hated being interrupted.

"Oh, hey, Em." Edward said, his voice relaxing a bit. "Yeah, I'll let you in. Sorry… we didn't hear the door." Edward laughed awkwardly before hanging up the phone and shoving it back into his pocket. He pulled back and took my hand, "Let's go let my brother and his Rosalie in." He brought my hand to his mouth, kissing my knuckles before leading us from the room.

We let Rose and Emmett in, each of whom immediately produced a fifth of Jameson Irish Whiskey. I groaned, knowing what was coming.

"We have to finish one of these fifths before we go out ANYWHERE!" Rose said, cracking the bottle open and taking a swig before handing the bottle over to me.

"Rosalie," Edward said, "I don't know if Bella can handle this much liquor. She's American; they don't drink like fish since the time they're born." I laughed, and took the bottle from Rose's hand, taking an even more generous swig than she had.

"Ahhh…" I said, smiling as the whiskey burned it's way down my throat. "Now what was that you said, baby?" Edward stared at me in shock for a few more minutes before he moved the bottle to his own lips, "Nothing, love." He said, as the remains of the alcohol slid down his throat.

We all passed the bottle around, only bothering to go get glasses as we reached the bottom.

We distributed the remaining bit of the alcohol into four shot glasses, each of us raising our glasses for a quick toast. "To having an amazing time tonight!" Emmett said, his voice impossibly louder and happier and his raised his shot in the air. My smile became wider when Rose followed with, "To new friends!" raising her shot next to Emmett's, shooting me a pointed glance.

Edward looked at me and kissed my cheek a bit sloppily before saying, "To my future wife." We aww-ed at him as he raised his glass. "To tonight and all the other nights we will share together." I raised my glass, and all four of us cheered, smashing our glasses together and throwing the remains of the whiskey down.

I grabbed my bag off the counter, as we got ready to leave, smiling when Edward wrapped his arm around my waist and placed a chaste kiss on the small hickey he'd let me earlier.

Rose called a cab company, giving them an address that wasn't far from Edward's place, and we left the apartment, taking care to lock up sufficiently before leaving.

We walked to the place where the cab would be retrieving us, and immediately piled in. It was freezing out; it was, after all, still January.

We arrived at the club a few minutes later, some place named Paper, and I was immediately shocked at the length of the line out front. We jumped out of the cab, and walked immediately to the front. The bouncer must have recognized Rose and Emmett, because he immediately lowered the rope and allowed us to walk by him.

Music was pumping through the speakers of the club making me feel like I was vibrating. I smiled when I saw Edward bobbing his head to music I quickly identified to be the Arctic Monkeys.

_I bet that you look good on the dance floor is right, Arctic Monkeys. Edward is going to look ASTOUNDING on the dance floor._

Edward didn't even bother walking us to the bar to get drinks, knowing that we needed to wait until the last of the whiskey hit us, and walked us out into the middle of the dance floor, grabbing me roughly by my hips and aligning our bodies.

Edward began grinding our hips together, our bodies moving in perfectly synchronized time with the beat pulsating through us.

The entire would around us practically ceased to exist. Nothing mattered except Edward and I. All I could feel was the movement of his hips against mine and the erection that was rapidly making itself know within the confines of his jeans.

_How I wanted his cock right now… I would totally ride the shit out of him right in the middle of the floor… if I could get away with it._

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how I knew I was plastered.

Edward and I continued to move against each other, the effects of the last bit of whiskey slowly hitting us. I felt his fingers tighten against my hips as someone slid in behind me, trying to get me to dance. I touched Edward's fingers, letting him know I was okay, before I turned around.

"Can I help you?" I asked, looking at the offending man. "Oh, I think you can, baby." He growled, his voice a drunken tenor, floating unwelcomingly into my ears.

He was a blonde guy, not much taller than I was, and probably not much stronger, either.

_If he was stronger at all. Even all liquored up I could take this guy._

I smiled to myself, and the man thought that meant I was accepting his invitation to dance. He stepped closer to me, holding his hands out as though he was going to grab my hips. That did it.

I reared back, slapping him clear across the face. He looked shocked for a second, before he raised his arm as though he were going to strike me back. I saw this, and immediately grabbed his wrist, twisting it behind him and grabbing the two bones in his wrist, twisting them quickly. The pain I'd induced shot up his arm and he groaned, staring at me in shock. "Get the FUCK out of here before I kick your ass. And when I'm done with you, I'm sure my boyfriend would love a go. Isn't that right, baby?" I asked, leaning my head back so Edward could hear me.

Edward stepped forward and punched the guy square in the face, the deafening crunch of his nose sounding out over the music, blood squirting down the front of the man's shirt.

I grabbed the guy's arm and threw him down on the ground, signaling the nearest bouncer to come over. "He was harassing me, so I punched him… I think I broke his nose!" I said, trying my best to sound nervous and a bit guilty and repentant. "No problem, miss." the bouncer said. He was a large guy, a jet-black layer of hair covering the top of his head, his shirt practically ripping at the seams from the muscle he was packing.

_Thank god he believed my story._

The bouncer, who's name I later found out was Vincent, picked up the guy and drug him out of the club, promising me that he wouldn't "be bothering me again!"

I spun back around in Edward's arms and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling his face until his mouth was millimeters from mine. "Now," I breathed, my lips moving against his as I spoke quietly, "where were we?"

"Well," Edward said, poking his tongue out to trace my lips, "I believe we were right," he kissed the left corner of my lips, "about," now the right corner, "here." he said, pressing his lips firmly to mine, immediately deepening the kiss and massaging his tongue over mine.

I groaned into him, sighing as I crashed our hips together, our bodies resuming their rhythmic movement to the music that was pulsing through the speakers.

Suddenly, I felt an arm wrap around my waist, but this one was distinctly feminine. I spun around in Edward's arms, grinding my ass up against him as I turned to face my mystery arm.

"ROSE!" I shouted, my smile wide as I continued to move against Edward. "Hello, love!" Rose shouted, bouncing forward to plant a kiss on my lips and grab my waist, pulling me away from Edward. "Us girls are going to dance, and probably snog, while our men go grab us drinks. Got it, boys?" Rose shouted. I threw my head back and laughed, turning my head to gander back at Edward as Rose and I ground our bodies against each other. Both Emmett and Edward were staring at us as though we were in some porno.

_If I were sober right now, I'm sure I'd be thinking the same thing. But I'm not so…_

I smiled, "Go get us drinks, love." I said, smiling at him. "Wh-wha-what would you like, baby?" Edward asked, his shocked stutter turning me on. "I grabbed him by his collar, licking a path from his Adam's apple to his ear before whispering, "Scotch, on the rocks." "You got it." Edward said, smiling at me, and kissing me before he and Emmett shoved their way to the bar.

"Our boys are ridiculous." I said, turning my attention back to Rose. She smiled and laughed, nodding her head enthusiastically in agreement. "We should watch for them and start snogging right before they get back." Rose said. I laughed, and nodded.

_What a better way to get Edward all worked up…_

Rose and I continued to dance, our dancing a little dirtier than it would have been had we been sober, but still just two friends having fun. It wasn't until Rose jabbed me in the shoulder and pointed out Emmett's curly head making its way towards us. Rose grabbed me, pulling my body flush against hers, and smashed our mouths together.

Despite our drunkenness, we managed to keep our teeth from clanging together, and synchronize our movements, my tongue being the first to move out as it traced Rosalie's lips. Rose smiled against my mouth, accepting my tongue, moving hers against mine seductively.

"BLOODY HELL." Rose and I quickly broke apart at the sound of Edward's shocked voice. Rose and I looked at each other for a second before we burst out laughing. Edward didn't look amused.

"What was that?" Emmett asked, looking between the two of us. "Oh, nothing…" Rose said, smiling as she wrapped her arm around my waist, "Bells and I just decided that we wanted to… experiment a bit. Isn't that right, Bella?" Rose asked, smiling down at me. I chuckled, "Abso-bloody-lutely, Rose." I winked over at Edward, reaching out and grabbing my Scotch from him. I downed half the glass, my eyes locked with Edward's, as Rose reached up to play with the ends of my hair.

"Well, baby," Emmett said, laughing boisterously, "I'm glad I was here to witness your lesbian adventure. At least it was with someone as sexy as Bella!" Emmett laughed, his laughter bringing a smile to my face. Edward reached up and slapped Emmett in the back of the head, staring at him incredulously.

"Relax, baby," I said, walking away from Rose and wrapping my arms around his neck, "we did it to get you all worked up." I aligned our lower bodies, pressing my hips to his. I was shocked to find that our trick had the desired effect.

"Happy, baby?" Edward asked, smiling at me. I didn't even respond. I grabbed Edward, smashing our mouths together, grinding my hips against his. I was desperate to feel him against me.

I felt the Scotch slipping from my hands, and I vaguely remember hearing is smash on the ground at our feet, as I grabbed Edward by the collar, pulling his ear to mine.

"Get us home." I growled, my breath heavy on his neck. Edward scooped me, tossing me over his shoulder, as he walked swiftly out of the club. I laughed boisterously, reaching down to slap his ass while Edward hailed a cab.

I heard the screeching of tires on the road, and suddenly, Edward was tossing me into the back of a cab, crawling over my body in the back seat. He gave the driver the address of the building next to ours, before pressing his body into mine, molding our mouths together.

I don't even want to know what the driver was thinking. Though… I suppose he wasn't surprised. He probably sees this all the time from people just leaving a club.

_At least Edward and I knew each other…_

Edward and I needed to pretend we didn't know each other one time… that would make for some great sex.

I smiled, and Edward broke the kiss, pulling back to look at me. "What?" he asked, his breath coming in gasps. "I was just thinking that we should pretend we didn't know each other the next time we go out… It would make for some really awesome sex." I said, a blush staining my cheeks.

"I like the way you think." Edward said, leaning down to press his lips back to mine.

We made out the entire way home.

Once the taxi stopped, Edward handed the driver some money before getting out, extending his hand to help me out. Once I was out of the car, Edward scooped me up, tossing me over his shoulder again, and carrying me towards the building we stopped in front of.

Once the cab driver pulled off, Edward walked me to his building. "This can't be comfortable for you." I said with a giggle, as Edward ran his fingers seductively over the curve of my knee. "Oh, I am not the least bit comfortable, Ms. Swan." Edward said, leaning up to place a searing kiss on the back of my thigh. "But not for the reason you're insinuating. You're quite light." He reached up and slapped my ass, which made me laugh.

"That reminds me…" I said as we reached the elevator, running my fingers along the waist band of his jeans, "didn't you say something about punishing me tonight?"

I felt, more than heard, the growl that emanated from deep in Edward's chest.

"I believe you're correct, Ms. Swan." Edward said, the smile evident in his voice.

We reached his door, and Edward swiftly unlocked it, stepping inside the doorway before pulling me from over his shoulder.

He stood, staring at me for a moment, looking me up and down. His gaze scorched my skin, practically lighting every nerve ending on fire.

I loved it when he looked at me like this.

"Go to the bed room, get naked, and get on your knees at the end of the bed. I'll be there in five." He said, his voice deep and commanding. I giggled, "Yes sir." I said, and spun to walk out of the room. "Good little soldier." Edward said, smacking my ass.

I ran down the hallway to the bedroom.

* * *

I woke up the next morning wrapped in Edward's arms, his body pressing mine into the mattress, his head buried in the crook of my neck. One of his legs was sitting directly between mine, his thigh right over top of my sex.

I smiled, running my fingers through his hair as I thought about our night.

_If I had a nickel for every time I'd asked him to spank me last night I would probably have enough cash to buy another Aston Martin._

I smiled, shifting a bit under his weight so I was more comfortable, smiling when my thigh came in contact with his morning wood.

_You'd have thought that man would have had enough sex for one day. We fucked six ways to Sunday last night._

I chuckled, shifting against him again, groaning quietly when his thigh rubbed up against my sensitive skin.

I continued to move against him, when Edward finally began shifting above me.

"Just can't get enough, can you baby?" Edward asked sleepily, reaching up to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

I smiled, "I'll never have enough of you, darling." I whispered, leaning up to kiss him sweetly on the mouth.

Edward rolled so that he was completely between my legs, reaching up to run his hand down my cheek before cupping my face. "I love you, Isabella." He said, his eyes showing me the emotion he was feeling. "As I love you, Edward." I answered. Edward smiled widely, leaning down to press his lips gently to mine.

Our mouths moved together sweetly, as we tried to convey the depth of our emotions. Edward slid into me as me kissed, each of us groaning once he was completely sheathed inside me. Edward smiled against my mouth, leaning up to press a kiss to my forehead, before pulling back.

"Look, Bella." He said, gesturing down to where we were joined. I looked down, taking a moment to really look at us.

It was amazing.

I moaned, arching against Edward. "My thoughts exactly, baby." Edward said, as he began moving inside me. He bent down, kissing every inch of my skin that he could reach, his mouth moving tantalizingly against my hot skin.

I would never tire of the way that he felt against me, of the way that he felt inside me.

I was totally and completely in love with him. Though I knew that it would kill me if he ever left, I knew that I couldn't run away from him because of what could happen. I had to take the chance to be with him in any way that he would have me. I lived for him… no matter how much that scared me.

I knew that I could, and would, maintain the fierce sense of independence I always had… it was one of the things I really loved about myself. But the thing about Edward, the thing that distinguished him from anyone else I'd ever been with, was that he encouraged me to be independent. He wanted me just the way I was, and never tried to change me.

And I only hoped he felt the same way about me. Because I certainly loved him for all that he was, and all the he wasn't. This man consumed my heart, body, mind, and soul. And I honestly have never felt freer or more alive.

I needed him to breath. And while this normally would have scared the ever-loving hell out of me, I know loved the feeling.

I hitched my legs around Edward's hips, pulling his closer to me, pulling my upper body up so that I could kiss his skin. I sucked on his neck for a bit, definitely leaving a hickey, before I moved down to his chest. I ran my fingers along the contours of his skin, reveling in the way that his muscles rippled under his soft skin. I leaned up, licking patterns and words onto his chest, occasionally leaning over to flick my tongue over his nipple.

He loved it when I did that.

We moved together slowly, my hips meeting his thrusts, until we both simultaneously stiffened, moaning out in climax, before Edward collapsed on top of me.

He breathed heavily into my neck for a few minutes before he looked up at me, brushing the hair from my face. "Who'd have thought we'd have made love like that after we fucked like we did last night?" he asked, a wicked glint in his eyes. I slapped his chest lightly, laughing, as I pushed him off of me, snuggling into his side, letting my eyes flutter closed.

We slept for a few more hours, before finally dragging ourselves out of bed and into the shower. Once we emerged and got dressed, Edward wandered into the kitchen to make us some breakfast while I called Rose and Alice.

I dialed Rose first. "Hey, Rose." I said, smiling when she answered the phone. "How was your night, you naughty girl?" Rose asked, chuckling. I could hear Trevor babbling in the background, so I assumed Rose had him on her hip. "Edward punished me, don't you worry." I said, the smile evident in my tone of voice. "Oh, Bella." Rose said with a laugh. "I wish Emmett and I had time for stuff like that now. Don't get me wrong, I love our Trey, but we only get so much kink in, nowadays." Rose sighed.

"WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT KINK?" I heard Emmett yell in the background. I laughed when I heard Rose slap him and scold him. Rose and I chatted for a few more minutes, inviting us over to their place tonight so I could meet Trevor, before I hung up to call Alice.

As the phone was ringing, I realized that it was three am back in Baltimore. Cringing as the phone continued to ring, I decided to hang on, knowing that if Alice were up, she'd answer. Not surprisingly, it went to voicemail.

I left her a quick message telling her to call me, and hung up, walking into the kitchen to find Edward. Edward was standing in the kitchen, his back to me, as he slid a pan into the oven. "What did you make?" I asked, smiling when he turned around. "Blueberry muffins." He said, walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist, leaning down to press a kiss to my neck.

"Any batter left?" I asked, smiling at him. "I saved some. I know how you like it." Edward said, smiling at me. I pumped my fist in the air, smiling when Edward reached around me to hand me the bowl he had for me.

I used my finger to scoop some batter out of the bowl, before deciding to get a little frisky.

Edward was still standing with his arms wrapped around me, so I took a finger full of batter, and ran it down the length of his neck. "Oops." I said, smiling at him. "Let me get that…" I leaned up on my toes and licked up the length of his neck, following the trail of batter I'd left.

It was delicious.

Edward groaned, taking a finger of batter and running it along the inside of my wrist. Edward licked off the batter, sucking for a second, no doubt now leaving me a hickey on the inside of my wrist.

We played until the timer on the muffins was done. I looked up at Edward, who was now shirtless, laying back on the kitchen table, batter speckled all over his abs. I chuckled, leaning down and quickly licking up the batter, before skipping over to the oven to pull out the muffins.

I set the muffins on a potholder on the counter, when I felt Edward wrap his hands around my waist. "I don't think so." Edward said, growling against my neck. He bit the skin at the junction of my neck and shoulder, reaching around to unbutton my jeans and quickly yank them down my legs. I lifted each leg, kicking my jeans halfway across the room.

I moaned loudly as Edward immediately fell to his knees, kicking my legs apart with his knees. He immediately plunged his tongue inside me, reaching around to play with my clit. My knees started to shake, and I almost collapsed. Thankfully, Edward felt this, and he wrapped his left hand tighter around my hip, helping steady my leg.

He lapped at my folds, catching as much of my juice as he could, continuing his ministrations until I screamed his name and fell apart on his tongue.

Edward leaned back on his heel and smiled at me for a second, the look on his face one of complete and total cockiness. I growled at him. "I need you inside me. Right the fuck now." I said, my voice deep and husky.

That snapped something within him.

Edward shot to his feet, pressing my upper body to the counter, smacking my ass swiftly. I moaned loudly, the action bringing back the things we done last night. "That's for disrespecting me." Edward brought his hand down on my ass again, "That's for cursing at me." Edward said, "And this is for both of us." Edward said, as he slammed himself inside me, his hips hitting mine.

We both moaned, the sound nearly deafening as it reverberated off the walls around us. He moved swiftly, slamming himself in and out of my, quickly pushing me up to my second orgasm. I fell apart around him almost immediately, and Edward sunk his teeth into my neck to keep himself form cumming.

Edward continued his quick pace, and I could feel him shaking behind me. I knew that he wanted to give me a third orgasm, so I reached down between us, rubbing my clit and quickly as I could. My knees nearly buckled, but I finally began moving my hips back to meet Edward's, allowing him to get even deeper.

We came simultaneously then, Edward slapping his hand down on the counter next to us as he came, riding out his orgasm, before he collapsed against me, his head laying on my back.

"That was…" I started, smiling when he said, "the best sex we've ever had." I chuckled, "That it was, baby. Now get dressed. The muffins are cool."

We cleaned ourselves up, righting our clothes, before Edward grabbed an arm full of muffins and walking out into the living room. We plopped down on the couch, Edward sitting at one end, me at the other, with my legs thrown on Edward's lap.

Edward absently rubbed my leg as he ate his muffin, and we laughed and talked together, enjoying the breakfast he'd made and we'd fucked over.

"Do you think this will ever go away?" I asked, looking at him. "What? This need to have each other?" He asked. I just nodded. "I hope not. I really, really, fucking hope not." He said, leaning across the couch to kiss me. I smiled against his lips, pulling away after a second. "Me neither."

We chatted about Edward's parents (he informed me that we would be meeting them the day after tomorrow… cue pants peeing) and Rose and Emmett. Edward told me all the things he could about his nephew, the look on his face bringing a smile to mine as he talked. It was clear that he would do anything for that little boy, and it pained me to know that he spent a fair amount of time regretting the work he was in because he couldn't be with Trevor as much as he wanted to be.

"I'm quitting this job before we have kids." Edward said then, smiling over at me. "Either that, or I'm seriously scaling back my workload. I want to know our kids. I want them to know they're loved."

I smiled over at him; "So now we're having kids?" I asked, chuckling. "Of course we are. You're it for me, baby." Edward said, pressing a kiss to my lips. "I hope they have your eyes then." I said, smiling up at him, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "And my devilish good looks?" Edward asked.

I chuckled, "I don't know about that. We can't have our kids dazzling other people like you dazzle people. It just wouldn't be fair." Edward laughed, reaching over to pull me into his lap.

"We should probably have a chat about our future, shouldn't we?" he asked, sighing as he rested his chin on my shoulder. "Probably." I said, running my fingers through his hair.

"I've told you Bella… I love you. And I mean it when I say that. You're it for me. I don't want anyone else, and I never will. I love whom I am when I'm with you. You make me want to be better… for you. I want to marry you, I want you to have my children, and I want to grow old with you. Of course, I wouldn't mind some fun spying dabbled along in there, but I would work my cover every day for the rest of my life if it meant I was at your side." I chuckled.

"I love you, too. So much." I said, spinning in his arms and kissing his neck. "I want everything with you. I want you to propose to me, and I want to keep it a secret for a few days before we tell anyone else. I want to call you Mr. Cullen and have you respond with Mrs. Cullen… I want to chase our kids around the backyard in whatever city we end up living in… I want to bicker with you about stupid stuff, like bed times for the kids and snacks before bed… I want it. And I only want it with you." Edward tightened his hold on me, breathing in my skin before kissing my neck a few times.

"Though, you would probably have to calm down with the hickies once we have kids. The children will think you're beating me up." Edward laughed, "I'll just have to give you ones they won't see then, won't I?" I groaned, shifting on his lap, his comment dampening my panties.

I'd already have four orgasms today. I was exhausted.

I slapped him lightly on the shoulder, grabbing another muffin off the table for both of us. We fell back into easy conversation about our lives. I told him about Jacob and Leah, and all the stupid things Jacob and I had done as kids. For every story I had, it seemed like Edward had four, and we spent the rest of our breakfast laughing.

Once we finished the muffins, Edward laid down on the couch, pulling me up against his body. We laid there for a moment, just reveling in the feel of our bodies against the others body, before we quietly drifted off to sleep.

I woke to the sound (and vibrations) of Edward's phone from his front pocket. I rolled over in his arms, reaching into the pocket of his jeans and pulling out the phone. 'Riley' the screen read. I shook Edward awake, showing him the screen, flipping the phone open and holding it to his ear. "Cullen." Edward said, his voice deep and demanding, as though he hadn't just woken up from a nap with his girlfriend.

Riley talked to Edward for a few minutes before Edward smiled over at me. "We'll be there." He said. Edward flipped the phone closed and looked over at me. "Gear up, love. We have a meeting with Riley." I jumped up off the couch, pumping my fist in the air. "Yes!" I shouted, running into the bedroom, followed by Edward's laughter.

This was going to be a great day.

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**I have the layout for the next few chapters on my dashboard notes. I want to type them up as soon as I can, and because I only have one more week of my summer class, I'm hoping to get a lot of chapters done (if not the story...!) I have to go back to school in 25 days, so I'm a bit nervous.**

**Let's challenge you this update. Can I get thirty reviews on the chapter? Maybe I'll work faster... ;)**

**Until next time. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! I just finished the outline for this story, so I'm well on my way to finish writing! Once the story is done, I'll post a chapter every single day. But heads up, after this chapter, I won't post until it's done. Don't worry. It'll be like two weeks. It's happened before. Hahahaha**

**I want to get twenty reviews on this chapter... make it happen? :)**

**Quote:**

**"Nobody will ever win the Battle of the Sexes. There's just too much fraternization with the enemy." - Henry Kissinger**

**Here we go... enjoy!**

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I ran all the way back into Edward's bedroom, grabbing my bag from the corner and tossing it up onto the bed.

I immediately began digging around, pulling my spy bag out from the bottom, before grabbing a pair of skinny jeans and a printed top I could belt off.

Hey, I'm going to a work meeting… kind of. I at least need to pretend like I care what I look like.

I pulled out my secure spy phone and dialed Jacob immediately.

"Ugh…. What?" Jake said, his voice groggy. I laughed, "Sorry for waking you, Jake. But we have a meeting that's being set up. Drag your ass out of bed and monitor me." Jake groaned, but I could hear the shuffling of fabric as he dragged himself out of bed.

I heard him kiss Leah, telling her that he was going to go handle some work stuff, before I heard the door shut a few moments later.

"Alright Bells…" Jake said around a yawn, "tell me what's going on." Edward came walking into the room and began changing as well, and I made sure to keep my back to him so I could actually talk to Jake about the mission.

I slid an earpiece into my ear and secured a microphone to my neck as I responded, "Edward got a call from Riley today saying that he wanted to meet with us." I said, cradling the phone on my shoulder as I threw my hair back into a French twist, shoving a knife down in the center, the decorative handle making it look like an expensive hairpiece.

"What are the meeting circumstances?" Jake asked. He was sounding more awake now, and I could hear him clicking away on the laptop keys. "Baby?" I said, pulling the phone slightly away from my face and turning to face Edward. "Yes, love?" Edward asked, smiling at me. "Meeting circumstances?" I said, grinning back. "Lunch." Edward replied, walking into the closet to grab something.

"Lunch." I repeated to Jake. He 'hmm'ed in acknowledgement, and kept clicking away on the keys. "Alright, Bells. I'm going to turn your tracker on in a second, but I want you to try and get a chip into Riley's phone today… or at least get your phone close enough to his so that I can tap his device through the airwaves. About a few feet away should do it."

"You can do that now?" I asked, shocked. Jacob laughed, "Of course, Bella. I have been developing it for the past few months. I finally cracked it. I've been working with really advanced systems, so I don't think that he will have anything on that phone that would be able to stop me from tapping it and keeping tabs on it."

I pumped my fist in the air, thanking Jake, before hanging up.

I spun around, "Guess what Jake can do!" I shouted, my face all lit up. "What's that?" Edward asked, putting his hands on his hips and smiling down at me. "EDWARD, he can tap into Riley's phone from mine! From a few feet away! It's amazing!"

Edward laughed, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and pulling me against him. He planted a kiss on the top of my head before spinning me out of his grasp and looking at my excitedly. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he asked, the smile threatening to break his face, "Let's go!" I laughed; I bounced up and placed a kiss on his lips before darting around the room, gathering things to keep on me during this part of the mission.

Edward and I were completely ready to go about a half an hour later, and after a quick call to Emmett asking him to tap into the local surveillance of the area we'd be lunching, we walked out the door, heading towards the nearest public transportation.

We hopped off the tube about twenty minutes later, jogging up the stairs back up to the city and walking across the street to a little place called "The Red Queen's Pub".

It was a rustic looking brick building, with a couple iron tables out front on the sidewalk. I pressed the mike on my neck, quickly whispering "I'm leaving this on during the meeting. Record everything and email me the file later." I heard Jake agree in my ear, and I looked up at Edward, smiling and winking at him so he knew that we were set.

As we approached the building, we looked around, taking note of everything that was going on around us. It was the middle of the day, so the place was relatively busy. People were walking all around us; women rushing to the market, tugging their children along, men ambling along, swinging their messenger bags as they hurried to their favourite pub for a lunch time drink.

We walked into the Red Queen and looked around. The place was relatively quiet, the only noise coming from the few older people that nursed pints of crog, playing with packs of cigarettes, probably debating whether they needed to get up to go smoke.

We looked over and saw a blonde man sitting in a booth in the corner, holding a menu up partially covering his face. I looked up at Edward, and he nodded at me. Edward took me hand and we walked over, watching as the man lowered the menu as we approached, looking us over for a moment.

"Edward, Isabella. Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice. " The man said, standing as he gestured towards the table. His accent was thick, and distinctly Italian, though he spoke English quite well. I smiled and nodded at him, as Edward replied, "Well, we're sure that this meeting will be just as beneficial for us as it will be for you." He said, smiling at Riley, as he held out his hand as helped me slide into the booth. Edward sat down next to me, grabbing my hand and placing it up on the table, allowing Riley to have physical proof of our relationship. Riley smiled at us, before gesturing towards the menus he had placed on the center of the table.

"Would you like to eat, or do you just want a drink?" I laughed, "I'm just going to get a pint of ale." I answered, smiling at him. Edward nodded, "That sounds fantastic. Though I wouldn't mind some chips." The waitress popped over to our table, quickly taking our order, before grabbing the menus from the table and disappearing again.

"So, how did the two of you meet?" Riley asked, looking between us. "A Brit and an American… what a couple." I smiled, "I was out in India, looking to buy, and I met Edward at a meeting. He was competing with me for the purchase. Needless to say, I managed to seduce him and let me win that buy." Edward laughed and grabbed my sides. "My customer wasn't too happy, but we managed to both buy from the people in India that time. We then started working together. We've been inseparable ever since."

I smiled over at him, leaning up to press a kiss on his neck when I heard Jake in my ear. "Alright, Bells," he said, yawning, "take your phone out of your bag and set it on the seat next to you. I should be able to crack into his phone pretty soon." I discreetly did as he asked, all the while laughing as Riley said, "Well, that's a bit of an unconventional meeting. I bet you two make quite the power couple." He smiled over at us and Edward nodded. "We barely ever go out on work anymore… we get other people to do the purchasing for us. Though, this is one of the most important buys we've ever had. Needless to say, we didn't really trust anyone else to meet with you about this."

"Isn't James Conklin working for you?" Riley asked, cocking his head to the side, his face a bit confused. I kept my body from stiffening, but just barely. "Yes. Have you spoken with him?" I asked, mimicking his body language. Riley nodded, sitting back as the waitress came and dropped off our first round of drinks. He reached forward and grabbed his drink. "We met yesterday. He told me that you spoke with him and wanted him to deal with this purchase." I looked over at Edward; he was livid. "So why are you meeting with us today?" I asked, a slight smile on my face.

Riley chuckled as he took another drink of his cider, "I didn't trust the man. I have heard a bit about him from other people, and they say that even though he's a killer salesman when it comes to getting the product out into the global market, he's not exactly the most pleasant person to deal with." I nodded, taking a sip of my ale, smiling as I set the pint down. "Well, thank you for checking with us." Edward said, squeezing my hand and looking over at me. "We've brought him on to keep him from competing with us, though we're still worried that he's going to try. Especially now because we are making him work for us." Riley nodded, taking another sip of the cider.

Just then, Jake clicked on in my ear. "Perfect!" he said, his voice overjoyed (considering the fact that I'd so rudely woken him up in the middle of the damn night), "We got him. I can access his address book, his calls, text messages, emails… everything. I'll go through it and email you anything interesting. This is his secure phone, by the way. Everything pertaining to business is done on this phone. AWESOME!" I could practically hear Jake pumping his first in the air. I chuckled, looking up at Edward.

"I almost feel stupid for trusting him." I said, looking over at Riley who was nodding. "It makes sense though." Riley said, "He is very prominent in this market, and people are willing to make deals with him just to make him leave." I laughed again, nodding enthusiastically. "It's nice to have someone on your team that everyone's heard of… I mean, I've never heard of you two." I nodded, taking a sip of ale. "That's because we've worked very hard at creating a cover for ourselves. We both hold civilian jobs and lead a completely separate life from the life we have when we make deals. We rarely go out on business anymore, and we make it a point to see that anyone that even threatens to talk about us is taken care of."

The message had its intended effect; Riley took a large sip of cider, and sat up a bit straighter. "I'm not saying that we think you'd betray our trust, Mr. Cohan," I said, smiling, "I'm just telling you about our usual operations." Riley nodded, taking another nervous sip of his cider, before setting it back down on the tabletop and looking us over.

"Look, I'll be straight with you." He said, bringing his hands up onto the table, folding them together and leaning up onto his forearms. "I like you two, and I want to do business with you. I'll have to talk to my partner, Victoria, about this, and then the four of us can meet sometime next week. How does that sound?" he asked, looking between the two of us. "That sounds excellent." Edward said, looking over at me as I nodded my head.

"Wonderful." Riley said, leaning back in his seat and downing a large gulp of cider. "In the mean time, lets talk specs so I have something to tell Victoria when we chat."

I smiled, "I take it Victoria isn't the type of person that you can just go to empty handed?" I said over the lip of my drink. Riley scoffed, "Not at all. I'm pretty sure she'd castrate me if I ever tried that." We all laughed, collectively drinking to Riley's currently intact manhood.

"So what are your plans for the file? When I sell it to you?"

I hid a smile behind a sip of ale, and allowed Edward to field the question. "Well, we have already started feeling out our usual clientele to see if there is any interest in such a file. We've been considering someone that James knows, though, personally, I'm not sure we're prepared to go that route." Edward smiled down at me, "We're not prepared to give James any more power in this world than he already has."

"Of course not." Riley said, laughing. "Giving that man more power would be more destructive than anything we could ever do. Or have ever done." I nodded, "Amen to that." Edward said, all of us simultaneously taking sips of our beverages.

We chatted together for a bit longer, Edward and I trying to get even more on Riley's good side as he "figured us out". We were finally ready to leave by the time we finished our third round of drinks.

"Like I said," Riley added, smiling at us as he climbed out of the booth, "I'll give Edward a call sometime next week. Victoria will be very excited to get this file out of our hands." He went to walk away, before turning around and looking at us over his shoulder, "How much money were you thinking of purchasing this for?" I hadn't even had a chance to blink before Edward said, "Fifty million Euros. At least." Riley blanched, clearly not expecting that much. "Well," he said, trying to play it cool, "I'll certainly have to bring that up as well." Edward nodded once, and we watched as Riley walk out of the pub into the cold afternoon air.

The second he was gone, we both finished off the last of our ales, slamming down some money on the table, and casually getting up and slowly walking from the pub. The second we walked outside, we both let out huge sighs of relief. "That meeting went so well!" I squealed, jumping up into Edward's arms and kissing him.

I felt him groan against me, opening his mouth to mine, snaking his tongue out and tangling it up with mine. Our mouths moved together languidly for a few moments, before Edward sat me back down on my feet, smiling down at me. "I know!" He said, the smile on his face stretching his features, "I really think this could be over in a few weeks." I grinned and took his hand in mine, "Let's go to Rose and Emmett's." I said, trying to ignore the panic that began sweeping through me.

I knew that I wanted everything with Edward, and I knew that he'd told me he wanted the same. But I couldn't help but think that things between us were going to change when we didn't have to be with each other all the time.

What would we do when I had to go back to America?

As lovely as it would be to stretch this mission out, I knew that we couldn't because that would be irresponsible and stupid. We were dealing with something that affected the lives of millions, if not billions of people. We couldn't mess around with something like that.

I knew that I was going to have to go back stateside as soon as this mission was over, and that bothered me. I wanted to be able to stay with Edward for the rest of my life, but there was no way that either of us could do that right now. We both worked for the government's spying agency in our home countries. I suppose that one of us could move… but it would make our lives so difficult to move away from the people that we loved and the people the coordinated our missions.

I didn't want to do this forever, but I already knew that. Despite the love I had for my work, I knew that at some point, I wanted to settle down and have children. Sure, working on missions with Edward for the rest of my life would be absolutely amazing, but living this life requires a kind of secrecy and commitment that you just can't maintain when you have children. At least, not if you want them to have the most normal a childhood as possible.

The very thought of missing a child's graduation because I was called on assignment made me sick.

Edward squeezed my hand in his, probably noticing the fact that I'd fallen off into my own world again. "What's wrong, love?" he asked, looking down at me in a concerned fashion. "I'm just thinking…" I said, trying to dodge the question, pulling him a bit faster as we skipped down the stairs towards the tube.

Edward let the question drop until we were sitting on the train. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, cocking his head at me. "I just…" I sighed, knowing that I might as well give it up, "I'm just thinking about what's going to happen when I have to go back to the states." I said, biting my lip.

Edward looked me over for a moment before saying, "What do you want to happen?"

I looked him directly in the eyes as I responded, "I want everything with you." I said enthusiastically, "I want to get married to you, have your children, and raise them together. I want to wake up and go to sleep every single day with you by my side. I can't imagine my life without you in it." I leaned up and kissed his neck before pulling back.

"What do you want?" I asked, as I looked at him.

Edward bent down and pressed his lips to mine, "I want everything you just said. I want to play football with our children in the yard, maybe a bit of rugby if our son is like his Uncle Emmett. I want to work a real job and come home to you every single day. I want to hold you in my arms and make love to you every night. I want to shop the markets at Camden… I need you in my life, love. I'm not going to give you up without a fight." I grinned, pressing my mouth to his.

Edward moved me back, pressing me up against the wall of the train, his hand sliding up my thigh as he kissed me. I moved my hips, bringing them into contact with his stomach, smiling when I felt him groan.

He quickly pulled away, sitting back into his seat, straightening his clothes, as I quickly did the same. I chuckled quietly, running my hands up and down his thigh, before settling. "So what are we going to do?" I asked, fiddling with his fingers. "We'll figure it out, Bella." He said, smiling over at me. "Though I have to say, I'd love nothing more than for you to move out here. I think you'd really take to London." He said, smiling as he kissed my fingers.

I grinned, and turned my head to look out the window.

One part of me wanted to be upset that he was asking ME to move, as opposed to offering to move himself. But the other part of me realized that it really made the most sense. Despite the fact that I loved Baltimore with all my heart and soul, it wasn't the place I was born. I was born all the way back in Forks, living most of my life out in Phoenix. I was a west coast girl that relocated back east. And no matter what anyone tells you, the people on the east coast are astoundingly different than they are on the west.

Edward lived in London, not to far away from his hometown, Truro. Last time I checked, five hours apart is a much lighter travel than is two days.

And honestly, despite the fact that I loved Baltimore, the only thing that was keeping me in America was Alice and Jasper. I didn't see my father… we'd just patched things up. And my mother was doing her own thing out in Phoenix. Moving to the UK wouldn't decrease the amount that I see them.

And this place really was starting to grow on me. I'd only been here for a day and a half and I already loved London like my own city. I knew the ins and outs of Baltimore, but I knew that once I learned those of London, I would love it just as much.

"Yes." I said, looking over at him then. "What?" Edward asked, clearly confused about what I was saying. "Ahh, sorry." I said, chuckling. "Yes, I'll live in London. Yes… I'll move." Edward looked at me, astonished for a second before pressing his face into my neck, kissing my skin, his smile warm against me. "I wasn't asking, but I'm so glad you want to, baby." I laughed a bit, kissing his hair, before Edward pulled back. "You're going to live with me, right?" he asked, smiling at me. "Do you want me to?" I asked, smiling at him.

"Are you kidding? Of course I do!" Edward chuckled, and I smiled, leaning over to plant a kiss on his lips. "As soon as we're done here, I'll go back to Baltimore and pack everything." I said, smiling at him.

"I think I know the perfect way to get you back to Baltimore." Edward said, smiling at me, grabbing my hand in his as we got off the tube and walked back up to the street.

"Oh, yeah?" I said, smiling at him, "And how's that?" "Not telling." Edward said, laughing as we strolled down the road towards what I assumed was Rose and Emmett's house. I scoffed, and slapped his chest, but laughed as we kept walking.

"I guess I'll just have to trust you then, won't I?" "That you will, love." He said, smiling down at me as we walked up onto the porch of a lovely brick house, not even bothering to knock on the door.

"We're here!" Edward hollered, and I heard a small (but very loud) little voice yell "UNCLE EDWARD'S HERE!" followed by the rapid pitter-patter of feet on hardwood.

A little boy with curly brown hair came bolting down the stairs, immediately throwing himself into Edward's arms. Edward laughed, "TREV! How are you, little man?" Edward spun him around in his arms, planting a huge kiss on Trevor's cheek.

"I'm good, Uncle Edward." Trevor said, smiling at him as he loosened his grip on Edward's neck. "Can we go play football?" I smiled at the two of them; Edward's face was lit up like a Christmas tree, as was Trevor's. It was clear that the two loved each other very much.

Edward laughed, "First, I want you to meet my girlfriend, Bella." Trevor looked over at me, and I was taken aback at how adorable he was.

Despite the fact that he had his father's curly brown hair, he inherited his mother's ice blue eyes. He was a gorgeous child. Trevor smiled, "Hi, Bella. I'm Trevor and I'm four. You can call me Trev like Uncle Edward if you want." I smiled, "Hi Trevor. I'll call you Trev if you want me to." Trevor stared at me a minute, "Where are you from?" he asked, his eyes lighting up in wonder.

I chuckled, "I'm from America." Trevor's eyes widened and he wiggled out of Edward's arms. "REALLY?" He shouted, jumping a bit in his place.

Edwrd and I both chuckled, "Yep. All the way from Baltimore. It's close to Washington D.C., the capital of the United States." I said, smiling at him.

"Do you know the president?" he asked, tapping his finger on his little chin. I laughed, "I met him once." "That's so cool!" Trevor said. I laughed again.

Just then, Rose came around the corner. "Mum! This is Bella, she knows the president!" I laughed as Rose walked over and gave me a hug, "Hey Bells." She said, kissing my cheeks. "Trevor, go get your gutties on. Your father is outside with the football. I'm sure Uncle Eddie would want to play too?" Edward rolled his eyes and scooped up Trevor in his arms, "Only if your mum stops calling me Eddie!" before taking off up the stairs, Trevor's laughter floating down to us.

Rose and I walked out into the kitchen, and she immediately began filling a kettle with water. "I have to start making the tea now for when the boys come inside in a few minutes. It's cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey out there, and there's even a bit of snow on the ground. They won't last long." I laughed, smiling as she started getting mugs out.

"Earl gray alright?" she asked, I nodded, watching her spoon loose tealeaves into a separate teakettle.

"Trevor loves you." She said, as she walked over into the pantry and grabbed bread, and some various objects from the fridge. "Want help?" I asked, smiling at her. She grinned and nodded, "Here, make the goat cheese and watercress sandwiches. I'll make cream cheese and cucumber sandwiches." I grinned and immediately began working.

"But seriously," Rose said, smiling at me, "Trevor already adores you." I laughed, "We just met!" I said, grinning at her. Rose shook her head, "Doesn't matter. He is a very perceptive little boy and he can probably tell that you're a good person… he also probably knows that you're going to be around for the rest of his life." I looked at Rose. "And why would he think that?"

She scoffed, cutting up the sandwich she had just finished making. "Don't even go there, Bella. You know as well as I do that Edward isn't going to let you go without a fight." I chuckled, "I actually just agreed to move here as soon as I'm able to get back home to Baltimore and pack up all my stuff and sell my place."

Rose squealed and wrapped her arms around me, jumping around in circles. I laughed, hugging her back, the both of us laughing excitedly about my future.

"Whoa, more snogging ladies?" I heard Emmett's loud, booming voice in the kitchen, effectively ending my celebration with Rose. "No you arse," she said, slapping Emmett on the back of the head, "we were just talking about how Bella is going to move in with Edward."

Emmett's face lit up and he walked over and wrapped me up in a hug. "That's bloody fantastic, Bells." I smiled and hugged him back as best I could.

"Speaking of Edward," I said as I pulled back from Emmett, "where is he?" "You know," Emmett said, gesturing in the direction of the back door, "outside in the snow with Trevor playing football." I laughed, "You got the sandwiches done, Rose? I finished mine." Rose nodded, waving me out of the house over her shoulder as she poured the hot water into the kettle with the tealeaves.

I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked outside, smiling as I watched Edward and Trevor running all over the yard, chasing a football. They were both yelling and laughing, ribbing each other when one was running around the other one with the ball. Edward would score on Trevor's goal, but I could always tell when he would intentionally lose the ball and fall down, letting Trevor score on him.

"Go Trev!" I shouted, laughing when Trevor said, "YEAH, that's right! See, Uncle Edward, Aunt Bella is on my team!" "Oh, is she?" Edward said, running up to the deck and grabbing me up in his arms and running towards the snow. "Edward, don't you dare!" I said, laughing at him, slapping his chest. Edward scooped up a handful of snow and plopped it on my hair, laughing when I playfully huffed at him. I wiggled out of his arms and ran over to Trevor, making a snowball and tossing it at Edward. It hit him square in the face and Trevor and I cracked up laughing.

"That's it, love," Edward said, stalking towards me, "you're going to get it." Trevor and I squealed, running around the yard away from Edward, occasionally scooping up snow to throw back at Edward. The football game long forgotten, we ran around the yard together, laughing and smiling, Trevor and I ganging up against Edward.

"Alright, kids!" We heard Rose shout from the deck. We all stopped throwing snow and turned around, looking back towards the house. "Tea's done. Wipe off the snow and come inside for afternoon tea." We all grumbled, but complied.

As Trevor walked ahead of us, I took a last handful of snow and mushed it in Edward's hair, giggling when he turned and grabbed me up in his arms, pulling my body against his.

"That's enough outta you, love." Edward said, pulling my face to his and smashing his mouth to mine.

I moaned as our lips touched, the opening of my mouth giving his tongue the opportunity to work its way between my lips. I smiled, rubbing my tongue along his, marveling in the way our mouths felt as they moved together. Nothing has ever felt more right.

We continued to kiss, our hands beginning to roam, when I heard the deck door open. "Daddy said to tell you that you can shag later and to come get the tea before he drinks it all." We stood, mouths agape at Trevor, laughing when we heard Rose yell at Emmett as she slapped him across the back of the head.

Edward set me back down on my feet and we walked back into the house, sitting around the kitchen table, drinking tea and eating sandwiches, warming our bodies after our playtime out in the cold weather. Trevor sat between Edward and I, smiling at the both of us as we sat around chatting. "Trevor, darling, go kick off your gutties in the mud room. You're going to track snow all over the house." Rose said, waving her son off to go do as she asked. "I'll go get everyone some more tea." She said, hopping up from the table and bringing the kettle back to the table, filling everyone's mugs again.

"SO…" Emmett said, looking at us with a smile on his face, "I heard that Bella here agreed to move across the pond." Edward laughed and reached over, taking my hand in his, running his thumb over my knuckles. "I don't know how I convinced her, but I'm a lucky bastard." Emmett laughed, "Well, congratulations." He said, pouring milk and sugar into his tea. "Thanks, Em." I said, smiling genuinely at him. Edward grinned at me, and leaned over to press a kiss just under my ear.

"Have you taken her to meet mum and dad yet?" Emmett asked, smiling over at us. "Nope," Edward said, popping the 'p', "but we're going to go over there for lunch tomorrow. Truro City has a football match that evening that I've been wanting to catch."

"Oohh, who they playing?" Emmett asked, his eyes lighting up. "Chesham U." Edward said, smiling. "That'll be a fun match." Emmett said, pouting a bit. "I got enough tickets if you want to come down and bring Rose and Trev. I got mum and dad tickets too."

"Well then, we can just make it a family affair!" Emmett smiled and reached across the table to high five his brother.

"Excuse me… Edward, love?" said, still in a bit of shock. "Yes, baby?" Edward asked, smiling over at me. "Since when are we meeting your parents tomorrow?" I said, my face completely white.

"Baby, you're not nervous are you?" I looked at him, stunned, unable to even say anything.

"Love…" he said, reaching over, taking my hand in his, brushing gentle kisses along each of my knuckles, "my parents will love you. They've been begging me to meet you since the day we met!" I smiled a bit at that, remembering the first time we met.

"I promise you, all they want is for me to be happy. And the fact that I've managed to find happiness with the most wonderful woman in existence will please them beyound belief. I can promise you." I sighed, but nodded my head is surrender, leaning over to press a kiss to Edward's cheek.

We cleaned up from afternoon tea, Edward and I running off to play football with Trevor in the basement. We had to stop kicking the ball around whenever Rosalie came down the stairs, but we had a train-set set up so that we could dive over and start rolling around trains when we heard her come down the stairs.

By four thirty, Edward and I were pretty ready to head home and make dinner, so we kissed Rose, Emmett, and Trevor goodbye, promising another visit before I went home to Baltimore to pack everything.

We arrived home about ten minutes later, rolling in the house, smiling and laughing about the days events. I couldn't believe that Trevor had taken to me so easily, though I couldn't say that I wasn't pleased.

At one point in our conversation, as I slid the lasagna into the oven, Edward walked up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. "When he called you Aunt Bella, I nearly had a heart attack you know." "Oh, thanks baby!" I said, laughing, turning around to slap his chest. "Not like that!" Edward said, shielding himself from any further attacks. "I meant that I could just see it. Hearing him call you Aunt Bella made me think about how much I really wanted to make that title the official one."

"So you've thought about it then?" I asked, turning around to smile at him. "You know I have; don't get me into trouble now, you!" Edward grabbed my sides, tickling me, pulling me up against him and silencing my laughter with his mouth.

And I couldn't help but think, as our mouths melted together, that maybe meeting his parents tomorrow wouldn't be so bad after all.

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**What do you think? Let me know! Remember, I'm shooting for twenty reviews on this chapter. It makes me write faster. :)**

**Question:**

**Ever met the parents? What was it like?**

**Until next time. :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Oh. My. God. I have been gone forever... and I AM SOOOO SORRY. I've been busy with school and relationships and life and well... this kinda fell by the wayside. But I'm on break now and I'm busting my ass to get this story finished before I go back to school. As always, enjoy the update, and make sure to leave me some love.**

**Oh! And I, of course, don't own these characters or Twilight or anything like that. What do I own? Well... I don't own him but I'm a proud mommy to be! :)**

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I woke the next morning naked, wrapped in Edward's arms, warm sunlight filtering in through the wood shutters. I turned around in his arms, pressing my face into his chest and groaning, grinning a bit when I felt his arms tighten around my waist.

"Ready to meet my parents today?" he said, his voice still thick with sleep. I nodded against him, yawning a bit and stretching in his arms.

"Good." He said, pulling me tighter against him.

I scooted up in his arms, wrapping my arms around his neck, pulling back a bit so that I could see him better. "Are they going to like me?" I asked, feeling my cheeks flushing a little.

Edward looked at me for a few moments before breaking into a smile. "They're going to love you. Not as much as I do…" he said, reaching up to run his fingers along my cheekbones, "but close enough." I smiled up at him, pulling his mouth to mine, not really caring that neither of us had brushed our teeth yet this morning.

_If we both taste nasty it's fine, right?_

Before I knew it, I was on my back, Edward hovering over me, ours hips moving together as we became desperate for contact.

I could feel his erection on my hip and I smiled to myself as I ground against him, tempting him into finally giving me what we both so desperately needed. But I knew that he was stubborn enough to tease me for a while longer.

"Not so fast, baby." Edward growled, pulling his mouth from mine, trailing his lips down my neck, nipping at my skin.

"Don't… give me… a hickey." I gasped, my rapid breaths causing my chest to hit Edward's, "We're meeting… your parents today."

Edward chuckled against my skin, "I'll just have to give you one they won't see then, won't I?" Edward kissed down my skin, dipping down, and pressing his mouth just over my left hip, sucking away at the skin.

It drove me absolutely wild.

A few moments later (I really had no concept of time anymore… he could have been sucking on my hip for an hour), he pulled back, admiring his work. I pulled myself up on my arms and looked down. My skin just above my tattoo was already starting to turn blue.

"Edward." I said, looking at him and shaking my head. He smiled brilliantly at me, and pulled himself back up, smashing our mouths together and effectively silencing my complaints.

He slid inside me as he ran his fingers all over my skin, his hands seeming to touch every single inch of me before repeating some unknown path he had set up on my flesh.

We didn't speak as we moved together, our eyes and bodies effectively removing the need for words to be said between us. We knew what we wanted, what we were looking for… and we knew how to get it.

We collapsed together a few minutes later, our bodies spent, our minds cleared and silent.

I rolled over onto Edward's chest, propping myself up a bit on my arms. "Ready to get the day started?" I asked with a smile. Edward sighed and wrapped his arms around me, "Only because I know we have to get up." He said, leaning down to kiss me.

I chuckled, jumping up out of bed, grabbing his boxers and rolling them a few times, settling them on my hips, before I slid on one of his button ups, buttoning a few buttons in the middle to keep my breasts from spilling out of it.

I spun on my heel and I slid socks onto my feet and looked at Edward. He was laying on the bed, his naked body gloriously on display, one hand thrown behind his head, the other playing with the trail of hair that traced its way down his lower abdominal muscles.

My breath caught, but I quickly raised my eyes to his, "You coming?" I said, my voice huskier than I intended. "Just did, love. Though I wouldn't mind coming again." He winked at me, and I felt my knees go weak.

"Don't you get all saucy with me, Edward Cullen." I said, shaking my finger at him. He laughed, and moved to toss a pillow at me as I skirted out of the room.

Edward ambled out of the room about ten minutes later, just as I finished mixing the batter for the pancakes. "Chocolate chip?" he asked me, leaning down to press a kiss to my neck. I nodded, and he smiled widely, swatting my ass, before walking to grab place settings and cups from the cabinets, quietly walking out of the kitchen to go set the table on the balcony.

He walked back into the kitchen, wrapping his arms around my waist and placing a kiss on my neck, resting his chin on my shoulder while I turned the pancakes. "I can't wait for you to meet them." He said, smiling against my neck. "I can't wait to meet them either." I said, reaching back to rub his neck, running my fingers through the little bit of hair that dotted about under his hairline.

He nuzzled my neck, before kissing my skin, walking over to the fridge to grab orange juice before wandering out and placing it on the table on the balcony, before coming back and starting tea.

"Tea?" I asked, smirking at him. "I am English, love." He said, chuckling at me. I laughed and swatted at his chest, pouring another batch of batter onto the griddle. "We're going to have pancakes for a week!" Edward said, catching me in his arms and pulling me to him.

"That's the idea…" I said, smiling up at him, "If we have enough food here, we won't have to leave." I winked at him before wiggling out of his arms and attending to the food.

Once we were satisfied with the selection, we wandered out onto the balcony, each of us carrying plates and teakettles, carefully balancing everything so as not to make a horrid mess.

As we ate, we settled into a comfortable pattern. Sometimes we would talk, but only when we had something to say. We didn't fear the silence; instead of representing the fact that we didn't have anything to say to each other, it represented the fact that we were able to sit together in silence and still be completely content.

And content I was.

I ran my foot up and down the length of Edward's calf as we ate, laughing at him when I would occasionally go a little higher and his eyes would widen. I could see him controlling himself so that he didn't practically leap over the table to get at me.

We finished our meal, each of us grabbing some dishes and tossing them into the dishwasher before walking back outside to sit and drink our tea.

"So what's the game plan for today?" I asked, looking over at him.

Edward took a sip of tea before looking back, "Well… we're going to my parents, hopefully we'll get there in time for afternoon tea. And then we'll go catch that football match I'm so excited about." He smiled at me, and I smiled brilliantly in return.

Whenever he talked about football, his eyes lit up. It was absolutely adorable, and I fell ever more in love with him every single time.

"And then we'll head back to my parents for dinner."

"Are your parents coming to the game?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"The match?" he asked, smiling at me. I wrinkled my nose at him, and he shook his head. "Americans…" he muttered. "But yes, I grabbed them tickets."

"Perfect." I said, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his lips.

I finished my tea and grabbed my mug, walking into the kitchen to put it away before I walked back to Edward's bedroom to find something to wear.

I dug through my bags for a few minutes, finally managing to find a gold silk top that I absolutely adored. It was a soft, rich gold (the shade reminding me of the flecks of gold that adorned Edward's eyes) and hugged my curves without looking slutty. I grabbed a dark pair of skinny jeans, pleased with the outfit I was planning to meet Edward's parents in.

I laid the outfit out on the bed (which Edward had made, surprisingly), grabbing my pair of short black suede boots and tossing them nearby. I grabbed my makeup bag and my hair stuff, walking into the bathroom just as Edward walked into the room and locked the door.

"Baby. Let me watch you get ready." He said, knocking softly on the door. I chuckled, but decided to give in.

I unlocked the door, opening it up a bit, before beginning to carefully wash my face and brush my teeth. Edward walked in grabbed his tooth brush, and began brushing beside me.

The domesticity of the moment nearly overwhelmed me. All I could think was that as soon as I could be, I would be back here every day, brushing my teeth beside Edward every single morning. The idea made me smile, almost too widely, as I finally began putting on some makeup.

"Why are you wearing makeup?" Edward asked, reaching out to run his fingers down my cheek as I curled my eyelashes. I looked over at him, "What do you mean?"

He grasped my hips in his hands, spinning me to look at him. "You're absolutely gorgeous. Why are you wearing makeup?" I smiled and stood up on my tiptoes to kiss his face, before spinning back to the mirror and lining my eyes.

"Because I like to accent my eyes, babe." I said, a slightly sarcastic smile gracing my lips. He swatted my ass, but let me get to work, running his fingers through his hair a few times before giving up and walking into the bedroom to get dressed.

Once I finished my minimal makeup, I grabbed my curling iron, heating it up while quickly applying some curl enhancer to my hair. I ran the curling iron through my natural waves, making them more cohesive ringlets, shaking out my hair once I was done.

I looked great. I couldn't be happier.

Walking back into the bedroom (and pleased to see that Edward was in the closet doing god knows what), I slid off my current attire, and pulled on my perfectly planned outfit all before he wandered out of the closet. To say I was proud of myself would be a complete understatement.

Edward walked out of the closet (looking mighty fine in a pair of khakis and a black Ralph Lauren oxford), took one look at me and stopped dead in his tracks.

"You cannot leave the house like that." He said, walking over and wrapping his arms around my waist. "Do I look horrid?" I asked, now worried that I wasn't up to the standards set by the Cullen clan. "The exact opposite, love. You look good enough to eat." Edward bent down, nipping at my neck with his lips, causing me to giggle and squirm under his touch.

"Don't you dare, Edward Cullen. We have a three-hour drive ahead of us. We need to get on the road now." I swatted his hands away and walked out the bedroom, leaving him to gather himself together.

"At least you managed to wear Truro FC colors!" Edward yelled from the bedroom. I laughed, wiping down the counter while I waited for Edward.

Edward walked out of the bedroom a minute later, sneakers on his feet, shoving his wallet and keys in his pocket. "Alright, love, let's go." he said, smiling at me.

I grabbed his hand, and we walked out of the apartment, taking the elevator down to the garage. We walked through the parking garage, walking towards what I assumed to be the very back of the place, until we reached an absolutely AMAZING car.

"You… you…" I stuttered, looking at the blue piece of heaven in front of me, "You drive a BUGATTI VEYRON!" Edward looked over at me and laughed, opening the door on the passenger side. "I come from money, love." He said simply, smiling at me as he shut the door behind me, walking around the front of the car to climb in.

Edward started the car, the purr of the engine making me absolutely ecstatic.

_Note to self, convince Edward to let me drive this baby. Maybe road head will convince him…. Hmm. Definitely on the way home tomorrow._

I smiled to myself, and decided that I would need something to distract me for a bit while I hatched my plan.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Jake.

"Black." Jake answered. I chuckled, he sounded serious, so I knew that he hadn't looked at the caller ID before answering the phone. "Jake, it's Bella." I said, smiling.

"Oh, hey Bells. What's up?" He said, his voice back to its usually light, carefree tone.

"Edward and I are going to see his parents today." I said, the tension clear in my voice. Edward reached over with his left hand, running his hand along my thigh. I wrapped my right hand around his, linking our fingers together. "Eek, meeting the parents." Jake said, "You prepared for that, Bells? Want me to do some recon?" I laughed, "No Jake, I think I can handle it."

Jake laughed, "Just offering, Bella. But what can I do for you today? I figure there must be a reason for this chat." I snapped my fingers with a laugh, "Damn. You know me too well Jacob Black." Jake laughed, "Don't I know it, Bells."

I smiled, "Alright, since you brought it up…" I said, trying to make it sound like he was forcing me to say it, "I was wondering if you'd found anything on Riley's phone we need to know about. And what James has been doing recently. You've been tracking him, right?"

"Yes, I am actually tracking James as we speak. But let's talk about Riley right now." I hummed in acknowledgment, and Jake continued. "Riley has a lot of numbers belonging to weapons dealers all over the globe on his cell, probably the archive that he was setting up for this buy, though he now has Edward's number favorited, so I'm taking that as a good sign." I tapped Edward, "We're favorited on Riley's phone." I stage whispered to him. He smiled, giving me a thumbs up, before shifting gears on the car.

"That being said, I also found a lot of old, and when I say old I mean like from a month ago, communication between James and Riley. It was mostly emails and they all include James trying to convince Riley to sell him the file in some way. He's been after this file for a while, Bells. I wouldn't take anything he says about his loyalty to you two at face. I'd watch him."

"Do you think we should cut him?" I said, curious. "That would be too obvious, and would probably incite something we aren't ready to deal with. I can't have you and Edward in the line of fire from James, and I'm pretty sure that Emmett would agree."

I sighed. I hated it when Jake treated me like this. "I can handle my job, Jacob." I said, seething. "Oohh, the whole first name. Calm down, Bells. I'm looking out for you." I rolled my eyes, but waited for him to continue.

"As for James, he's in London now. I'm trying to figure out what he's doing, but he just placed a call, and he was definitely setting up a lunch meeting. I don't know who with, but we'll find out once they meet."

"You are tracking Riley's phone, right?" I said. "Yes, Bells. I've got it covered. I don't even want to know what the electric bill is going to be at the agency this month." I chuckled, when my phone started buzzing in my ear. "Hold on Jake, I'm getting another call."

_Who ELSE could possibly be calling me from Baltimore at this time? It's like four thirty in the morning there._

"Hello?" I said, not expecting the nearly ear splitting scream I heard on the other end. "BELLA!"

Oh my god, it's Alice.

"ALICE!" I yelled, laughing a bit when Edward jumped beside me.

"Bella, Bella, Bella! You'll never guess where I am or what I just did!" She sounded so happy, I could only imagine. "You're in New York and you just convinced Barneys to open just for you?" I guessed. Alice laughed, "Good guess, but no. We are in Vegas, and you are now speaking to MRS. JASPER WHITLOCK!"

OH MY GOD.

"OH MY GOD! ALICE THAT'S FANTASTIC! OH MY GOD!" Edward jumped beside me again, and I laughed, reaching over to rub his thigh, taking the phone away from my face, "My best friend just got married!" I said, smiling at him. Edward smiling warmly, "Give her my congratulations." He said, grinning at me.

"Edward says congratulations!" I said, laughing. "Tell me everything!" I said, giggling like a girl.

"WELL, Jasper and I have been together every single night since you pushed me to talk to him, thank you for that by the way, and the other night he told me that he absolutely couldn't live without me. He got down on one knee and everything, Bella! Proposed to me with a gorgeous ring he'd picked up from Tiffany's when we went to pick out your outfit back in December."

"He's been planning this for that long?" I said, shocked. Alice laughed, and I could practically hear her enthusiastic nod through the phone, "He said that I had been the center of his world ever since he interviewed for me all those months ago. He said that he wanted to ask me out and ask me as soon as he thought the time was right."

I sighed, "That's so romantic, Ali." "I know!" she squealed, "But anyway, he proposed, we had FANTASTIC sex, and I decided that I didn't want to wait anymore. I fired him (immediately hiring someone else) and had the new guy fly us to Vegas. And we got married as soon as we could!" "Alice, that's amazing. I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to congratulate you in person."

"So what's new with you?" She asked, obviously asking about Edward.

"Well," I said, trying to by coy, "Edward and I are now officially dating and in LOVE." Alice squealed and I ignored her, "And I'm moving to London as soon as this is over to be with him!" Alice and I squealed simultaneously this time; I was bouncing in my seat and I knew that Alice probably was too.

I looked over at Edward and he was smiling. "Talking about me, love?" "Of course I am, baby." I answered, leaning over to kiss his stubbly cheek.

"So are you guys getting married?" Alice asked. I smiled, looking over at Edward, rubbing the back of his hand, "In time, Ali." I answered, smiling when he leaned over to place a peck on my cheek.

"I totally want to move to London now." Alice said. I could hear the gears in her head turning. "OH MY GOD, I TOTALLY COULD. I could transfer and work out of London… the CIA won't care. Jasper could teach his history class at Oxford… it would be perfect!"

"Wait, Jasper teaches?" I asked, stunned. "Yes, Bells. He flies planes because he needed the cash to finally get his doctorate in history. He's been offered a few jobs, and Oxford was one of the places. He's going to be a professor of American History at Oxford, Bella! I get to live in London with you!" I laughed, slapping my hand against my thigh, jumping up and down in my seat. "Alice, that's fantastic! Oh my god, I can't wait for you to come over! It's so gorgeous here, it really is." "You're going to stay with the CIA though, right? I don't want a new boss." I said, chuckling. "Of course, Bella!" Alice said, probably rolling her eyes.

"Can you start to clear everything with the higher ups so I don't have to once I get home?" Alice agreed. "Good. Edward and I are trying to make it so that we can end the mission back in Baltimore so I can pack and send as much of my stuff across the pond as humanly possible." "Sounds like a great plan, Bella! Well, I have to go. MY HUSBAND and I have a wedding night to celebrate!" I chuckled, "Bye Alice. Tell Jasper I said hello!" Alice laughed, "Gotcha, Bells!" and hung up.

"Wow." Edward said, looking over at me with a shocked expression on his face. "I've never seen you that happy before." I chuckled, "My best friend in the world just got married to the man she loves. And he's a fantastic guy who I know will treat her right. Why wouldn't I be this happy?" Edward smiled, not saying a word, and reached over, placing my hand on top of his on the gearshift.

We drove along, chatting happily when we had things to say, remaining silent when we had nothing worth sharing.

"So once, Emmett and I convinced my mum and dad to take us to Disney World Europe. We were so excited about it; it was all we could talk about for weeks. The kids in my primary school class were ready to kill me. Well, we finally got there, Emmett saw Mickey Mouse and ran screaming from the park. We went home the next day."

I laughed, my whole body shaking as I tried to control myself. "You and Emmett had the best childhood." I said, finally managing to control myself.

"I'm glad you find my primary school humiliation hysterical." He said, frowning at me. "Oh, don't even." I said, reaching over and running my fingers through his hair. "You made it out alright." He grumbled, "Just barely." And I laughed again. "Tell me a story about you." He said, smiling at me.

I sighed, and thought for a minute, watching as he pulled off the main high way he'd been on and onto a small back road. "Are we almost there?" I asked, happy, yet also insanely nervous. "Yes. Now, stop trying to distract me."

I giggled a bit, taking a second to think about a story.

"Okay, so this isn't from my childhood, but it's a pretty ridiculous story about my past." "Okay…" Edward said, laughing.

"So, have I ever told you about how I met Jaidee?" I asked, smiling at the memory. "No…" Edward said. I chuckled. "Well, I was sent out on my first international mission from the CIA, and I had to fly to Thailand to get to know this guy in the weapons trading business. He knew a lot of people in the buying business, and we were trying to get solid evidence that he was connected to a lot of famous terrorists at the time. So I was supposed to meet him at this bar, when all of a sudden some woman comes running out of the bar, screaming at my contact." I rolled my eyes, the scene playing itself out in my head. "I had no idea what was going on, and I had just learned Thai, so I was still a little shakey with my speech and auditory recognition. But all I got was that the Thai government was looking to press formal charges against him for his illegal status in the country." I sighed, looking over at Edward. He was looking at me like I was insane.

"The beginning of my career was very…active." I said, with a small laugh. "That it seems." Edward said, "I hope you were being safe?" "Not at all." I said with a laugh.

"So anyway," I said, ignoring his chastising look, "I figured that since this was my contact, it was alright if I followed them in a quiet pursuit. So I took off after them, making sure to follow them from a bit of a distance. That plan was compromised, however, when Jaidee caught the guy and began kicking the ever loving shit out of him. It was her way of incapacitating him so that he couldn't run anymore. So I ran over, trying to break it up, when the cops showed up. They broke us up, throwing us all in jail for the night. They tossed Jaidee and I in the same cell. My first words to her were, "Nice right hook"… we've been great friends ever since." I laughed.

"What happened to the guy?" Edward asked curiously.

"I managed to get all the information I needed out of him once I told the police why I was looking to talk to him." Edward nodded knowingly, keeping me from having to go into details.

The life of a spy isn't always as glamorous as the movies make it out to be.

"Your parents know what you actually do, right?" I asked, trying to determine what I could and couldn't talk about once we had dinner with them.

"Yes, they know. Emmett and I had to tell them all the details of our work before they would agree. They are very influential in the government, and we would have been fired if they heard anything they didn't like."

I nodded quietly, digesting this information.

We rounded the corner on the dirt road we were now on and pulled through the trees, outside a gorgeous white mansion. The house had an amazing porch, which spanned nearly the entire left half of the front of the house. The double doors that lead inside were large and black, two huge windows running down the middle of each door. The house was three stories tall, and probably had over twenty rooms inside. The place was gorgeous.

"Edward…" I said, looking between him and the house, "is this where you grew up?"

"Yep." He said, shrugging his shoulders, and climbing out of the car, walking around to help me out.

As we walked up to the door, the door suddenly flung open and a little red haired girl jumped out. "Uncle Edward!" the girl shouted. "CLAIRE!" Edward said, laughing a bit as the girl jumped into his arms. He held her out in his arms so he could look at her. "This isn't my Claire." He said, smiling, "My Claire is a little girl. This Claire is a beautiful big girl!" Claire giggled, "It's me Uncle Edward, it's me!"

"I don't know…" Edward said, tapping his chin. "What is my Claire's FAVOURITE game?" Edward said, smiling. "The tickle game!" Claire yelled. Edward laughed, "You are my Claire!" he said, grabbing the little girl's sides, tickling her, causing her to laugh and thrash about happily.

They settled down, and Edward sat Claire down on her feet. "Claire, this is my best girl, Bella. She's my girlfriend, and soon," Edward leaned down to whisper to her, but made sure to keep his voice loud enough so I could hear, "I'm going to ask her to marry me." Claire giggled, "Hi Aunt Bella!" before she took off running into the house, "MUM! AUNTIE ESME! UNCLE EDWARD SAYS HE'S GOING TO ASK AUNT BELLA TO MARRY HIM!"

I laughed, wrapping my arms around Edward's waist. "You like to start trouble, don't you?" "Only where you're involved, baby." Edward quipped, leaning down to kiss me quickly before leading me into the house.

A tall man, whom looked EXACTLY like Edward with blonde hair and blue eyes, and a woman with striking green eyes and flowing bronze hair, greeted us. "Edward." The man said, walking forward and wrapping his son in a hug. "Dad." Edward said, smiling warmly, "This is the love of my life, Isabella Swan. She prefers Bella." Edward wrapped his arm around me, smiling down at me warmly, kissing my forehead. "Bella, love, this is my father, Carlisle."

Carlisle stepped forward and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, patting me on the back. "I don't know how Edward convinced you to love him, but I'm happy to meet you." I laughed, hugging him back, "Edward is a fantastic man. You and your wife did a brilliant job raising him."

"An American?" he said, pulling back and winking at Edward. "Great snag son." I chuckled as Carlisle stepped back and was immediately hugged by the woman I knew to be Edward's mom.

"Bella, it's wonderful to meet you. I'm Esme, Edward's mum." She said, I smiled, hugging her back.

"Mum, don't scare her." Edward said, sighing. I laughed, holding Esme at arm's length. "Hush up, Edward. Your mother is very sweet." Esme smiled at me, "See, Edward. Leave us girls alone." Esme let me go and walked over, wrapping her arms around Edward and hugging him tightly. She pulled away, placing a sweet kiss on his cheek, before pulling back and ruffling up his hair. "Do something about this." She admonished him.

He chuckled and rolled his eyes, smiling at her. "Come, Bella," Esme said, smiling at me, "would you like to prepare tea with me?" I smiled, "Of course!" Esme linked her arm through mine, and we walked towards the kitchen together.

"So how did you and Edward meet?" Esme asked, letting go of my arm and pulling a teakettle off of the stove and filling it with water.

"We actually met in the dressing room at Barneys, but I didn't know it at the time. We met later that night in Baltimore, where I lived, at a New Years Eve ball. He was my contact for the mission we're currently on."

Esme nodded and smiled, "I've talked to him a few times since you've met. He's changed so much since you two have started your relationship." "All positive things, I hope?" I said, smiling at her. "Of course, dear. Before, he was just a quiet man, just working. He came around between missions, but didn't have the social life that most men his age typically have. And even though he was always happy with his life, to a point, he was ruined after that whole mess with Tanya. He's back to being old Edward, and it's amazing. He's so happy Bella it's… astonishing. Truly, thank you."

I smiled at Esme, "Thank you for saying that. I can honestly say that I'm the happiest woman on Earth for somehow managing to snag Edward. I'm quite in love with him. I'm so glad that he asked me to move out to London with him."

"Oh he asked you!" she screeched. I chuckled, "Yes, I'm moving as soon as we are done this project."

Just then, a woman with bright red hair, much like the color of Claire's, came walking into the kitchen. "Esme, you aren't grilling the girl, are you? Hi, I'm Charlotte, Edward's aunt and Esme's sister. You're Bella?" I smiled and nodded, "Great to meet you." I said. She walked over and wrapped me in a hug. "You as well. I hear you already met my daughter, Claire?" I smiled, "Yes, we met her at the door." She laughed, "She's with my husband Peter now, recounting all the details of your doorway encounter."

I laughed, "She's absolutely adorable. Looks just like you." "Aw, thanks love." Charlotte said, smiling warmly at me. "So, how have you managed to keep yourself sane, spending all this time with Edward?" Charlotte said, laughing. I smiled, "Barely." I chuckled when Edward walked in. "How are you all? Talking about me, I presume."

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck, "Not at ALL honey." Edward rolled his eyes and bent down to press a kiss to my lips before slapping my ass. "Yeah right, baby." he said. I chuckled, turning around and sticking my tongue out at him over my shoulder. "Go play with Claire. Leave us ladies alone." Edward walked over and kissed me again, before whispering, "Don't stick your tongue out at me unless you intend to do something with it."

He then winked and walked away. I nearly passed out.

Charlotte let out a laugh, "Well, that man seems to have you wrapped around his finger, doesn't he?" I smiled, "Believe me, he does. Though, I have him wrapped around my finger too. We're equally smitten. It's a beautiful thing." I grinned widely, unable to control my smile.

"Do you think we should call the men in for tea? Or should we just call in Claire and have girl talk?" Esme asked, laughing a bit.

"Well, I know Edward will pout if he doesn't get his afternoon tea before that football match he's chomping at the bit to go to." I said, laughing. "Chomping at the bit?" Charlotte asked. "Oh…" I said, blushing, "It's a saying. It basically means that he's been dying to do something." "Oh. You Americans are so strange." She said, laughing a bit.

I smiled, "Aren't we, though?" They both laughed, "At least you aren't afraid to admit it." Esme said, giggling.

"Boys!" Esme called, her voice travelling through the house, "Tea is done. Get yourselves in here. I expect you to be clean!"

I smothered a laugh with my hand as I took to setting out some teacups and plates, along with the tray of sandwiches Esme had gotten out of the refrigerator. The boys all filed in, taking their places at the table, each leaving a spot beside them for their significant other, Peter sitting two seats over from Edward so that Claire could sit next to her favorite 'uncle'. Once we all had our tea and had each taken a small sandwich (or, in the boys case, a few sandwiches), we all fell into easy conversation.

Edward and I talked about how we met, the plans for my move, and a variety of other things about our relationship.

No one asked about our work, or the mission we were currently on, for which I was grateful. I knew that we couldn't really talk about it, so I didn't really want to have to get asked about it. That, and I wasn't comfortable talking about this particular mission. God knows whom the people involved knew, and the last thing I needed was for something to accidentally get passed behind enemy lines.

We finished our tea, and I could tell that Edward was dying to get into the city to go see his football match. "Mum, did you want to go to the match, or would it be alright if I took Uncle Peter?" Edward asked, his body bouncing as he shook his leg around nervously.

Esme laughed, "Edward, dear, take your Uncle Peter and your father. Char and I have no interest in a football match today. And we need to keep Claire away from that madness for as long as possible." "Yes!" Edward's Uncle Peter pumped his fist in the air and jumped up out of his seat, absolutely elated that he was going to the match.

"Let me go get my jersey from the car, I'll be right back!" Peter leaned down and kissed Charlotte on the cheek before running out of the house. We all started laughing once we finally heard the door slam.

"Bella, are you sure you're ready for the madness that is an English football match?" Carlisle asked, looking at me with a bit of a sly smile gracing his features. "I've been to a Ravens/Steelers American football game… I'm ready for anything." I said with a laugh. "Well… that means nothing to me, but I'll have to take your word for it." Carlisle said. I laughed, "They are huge rivals, and because they played in Baltimore, I decided to go to the game. I saw quite a few fights… it was a great game though." Carlisle smiled, "Hopefully there aren't any fights today, though it's never really football without one." Edward laughed, "Remember that time you got into a fight there, dad?"

Carlisle laughed and Esme rolled her eyes. "I was trying to defend Emmett. It's not my fault he got in over his head." Carlisle said, holding up his hands in surrender. "Well, dad, it is your fault you called the guy a bloody wanker and called his girlfriend a bint."

The whole table broke out into hysterical laughter, and I watched as Carlisle blushed a bit before joining the rest of us. "Alright, so that may have been my fault then."

Peter came back in the house, his jersey on, eye black on under his eyes, his expression excited. We all chuckled a bit as he grabbed us from our chairs, forcing us to the door, walking us out to the car.

"Dad, let's take the Rover." Edward said, smiling. I rolled my eyes. This family probably had more expensive vehicles than I cared to think about.

We all climbed into Carlisle's black Rover, Edward and I sitting together in the middle, while Carlisle and Peter sat together in the front. I listened quietly as the men all chatted about the match that we were going to see, smiling when they would occasionally start to yell over each other as they talked about the different players and a whole bunch of other things I didn't really understand.

Edward smiled, reaching over and taking my hand, rubbing his thumb across my knuckles as he argued with his dad and uncle. It was sweet. It reminded me that no matter what was going on around us, or what he was involved in, he was always thinking of me.

_Edward knows how to make a girl feel special… And not just in the special-est of ways… _

We pulled into a parking lot a few blocks away from where I assumed the stadium to be, and we all piled out, Edward and Carlisle walking around to the back of the car.

"Here, baby. Put this on." Edward tossed a jersey my way, which I immediately pulled on. "No sense in making you stand out any more than you're already going to." He said, chuckling. I laughed, slapping him in the chest as he pulled on his own jersey.

"Screw you." I said, smiling at him. He pulled me against him and kissed me, effectively removing the cocky grin from my face.

"Break it up, kids." Carlisle said, laughing a bit, before Edward and I could get really hot and heavy.

I blushed, and Edward laughed, wrapping his arms around my waist, giving me a kiss on the head, before taking my hand. We all walked off to the direction of the football stadium, the dull roar of the crowd getting louder as we approached.

"I had a really great time meeting your parents today, baby." I said later that night, as Edward and I walked into his childhood bedroom.

"I'm glad." Edward said, shutting the door and walking over to me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"It's just so amazing to think that one day very soon, I'm going to be living in London with you… I'll probably even pick up a bit of an accent." I said, chuckling, as I leaned up to press a kiss on his lips before placing my head down on my chest.

Edward nodded against me, "I can't wait." He said, leaning down and kissing my head. He swayed us side to side, giving me a moment to think about the night we'd shared with his family.

"_THAT WAS SO AMAZING!" I'd shouted, the smile threatening to overwhelm my face as we walked back to the car after the match. "I can see the appeal, really I can! I wish America was more into soccer… thank GOD I'm moving to London!"_

_Edward laughed, "Is that the only reason you're glad to be moving to London?" I smiled, and placed a kiss on his cheek, "You're just a plus baby… you know I'm only moving here for the soccer." Carlisle and Peter laughed, and Edward grabbed my sides, tickling me a bit._

"_I'll call your mum, Edward…" I threatened, pointing my finger at him. He bit the end, sucking a bit on the tip of my finger, winking at me when he pulled back._

_Damn him._

_We climbed back in the car and Carlisle kicked it into gear. We all chatted excitedly about the match, and Edward even made me call Emmett and try to tell him everything that happened. Needless to say, Emmett ended up getting frustrated with me and hanging up on me._

"_It's okay baby." Edward had said, "He just doesn't understand your horrid American English."_

_I'd slapped his chest for that one._

_When we got home, Esme and Charlotte were just setting the table for dinner, with little Claire sitting at the counter trying to fold napkins. I sat down beside her to help her out, whispering to her that I was taught when I went to a dinner for a certain Hannah Montana._

_I couldn't hear for about twenty minutes after that._

_I didn't think that I would mesh so well with Edward's family, but after spending only one day with them, I really felt like I could see myself here for the rest of my life._

_I already knew that I got along with Rose, Emmett, and Trevor, but the real test is always the parents. Hell, I even met some of the extended family._

I smiled then, thinking about how perfect this whole thing between Edward and I really felt.

"What are you smiling about?" Edward asked, leaning down and looking at me, his own smile creeping across his lips.

"Just thinking about how much I love you… and how right this all feels." I answered honestly, looking him in the eyes.

"Me too, baby." Edward said, leaning down to kiss me.

We kissed for a moment, before I felt a yawn bubble to the surface. I blushed immediately. "Am I boring you, baby?" Edward asked, smiling at me.

"I'm so, so sorry. I am just really tired." I said, bumbling over my words.

"That's okay love…" Edward said, laughing a bit and kissing my forehead, "I am too."

Edward let me go, walking over to his bed and pulling back the covers, the two of us climbing in and immediately falling asleep.

* * *

**Whatcha think?**

**Question for this update: What would you like to see in the epilogue?**


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